Meets The Eye, Meets The Heart
by Iellix
Summary: AU. Yuna is the silent type. Rikku is the perky one. Lulu is the mysterious one, subject of many rumors. Wakka is the jock. Tidus is the new guy. But all is not what it appears in their little Besaid Island high school...
1. The Beginning

Okay, this is my bad habit: writing multiple stories at one time. Usually, only two of them make it out, and right now it looks like Velveteen Dreams may not get finished. I liked the idea when I was planning it out in my head, but now that I'm writing it, I can't really get into it anymore. But this is my cliché idea for a high-school fic, but I am trying my best to make it unlike the others. And I've changed a couple of things to make it work out: Al Bhed is Jewish, and Yevonite Catholic is the same as Roman Catholic. That way, there can still be arguments and wars about their religions… you know, just to keep them in character even though they are battling teachers and Algebra instead of fiends.

Summary: Yuna is painfully quiet—hiding away in her shell since her parents died. Lulu is a lovely, mysterious BlackMage, about whom many rumors are told. Rikku is a perky Al Bhed girl, new to the school. Wakka is your typical jock and a religious fanatic. And Tidus is the new guy from the big city of Zanarkand all the way to the little isle of Besaid. But all are not what they seem… and that which they show to the outside world is barely the beginning of their personalities.

I must disclaim… I don't own Final Fantasy, but I do so love borrowing the characters every now and then!

                                                                                                             ~*~

First Quarter

Chapter 1:

Welcome Back, Aurochs

Yuna was the painfully quiet type. There were only two people that she considered to be her friends: Lulu D'Anjou, and her Al Bhed cousin, Rikku Meinach. To other people she rarely spoke—many thought she was mute, and she just let them believe it.

          Today was one of the days of the year that she hated more than anything. It was the first day back at school after the two-and-a-half month summer break. This was always upsetting to her because she remembered how much her parents had wanted her to become a doctor or a lawyer or some other high-demand profession. After her father died, her appointed guardian was Kimahri Ronso, who had also insisted that she take the necessary classes for a medical profession, but she dropped them as soon as she could, instead choosing to take art classes. The proud Ronso had been upset, but he supported her the whole way through, anyway. This year, however, he had been called away to serve his tribe on Mount Gagazet. Not willing to leave, Yuna had put up a colossal fight and ended up winning; now her Al Bhed uncle, Cid, and her cousin Rikku, lived with her.

          There were some poundings at her door as Rikku tried to wake her older cousin up. Yuna groaned and called through the door, "I'm awake!" but not getting out of bed. This was an old trick she had learned a few years back. Saying that she was awake, instead of "up" was telling the truth. She could be awake without physically being up and out of bed.

          "Yunie, come on! Outta bed!" Rikku chirped. Yuna rolled onto her stomach and groped on the floor with her right hand, finding one of her sneakers. When Rikku opened the door, she hurled it at her; the blonde shut the door in a big hurry and scurried down the stairs. Yuna smiled in satisfaction, but her smile faded again when she remembered what today was. She combed her fingers through her hair and managed to haul herself out of bed and over to her basketful of clothes on her floor. Kimahri always tried to have her dress nicely on the first day of school, but once she had begun taking her art classes, she owned nothing that wasn't stained with paint or charcoal, or had dark red earthenware clay caked into the weave. To humor her old guardian, even though he wasn't there, she wore jeans that she had modified with colored fabric so that the lower legs would flare out, and a black t-shirt.

          In the darkness of her own room, she gathered up her new notebooks, her backpack, her denim jacket, and her motorbike helmet and stumbled gracelessly in her half-sleepy daze down the stairs. Six in the morning, and she was already in a bad mood. Rikku was at the kitchen table, wearing a short green skirt and a flowy orange top with blue flaps on the back. She wore many necklaces, bracelets, and a few hair ornaments. Rikku _always_ dressed like that—Yuna knew that she would stand out pretty badly in school, since everyone in Besaid dressed fairly conservatively. But her cousin was excited about going to a public high school, since up until then, she had been home-schooled with a handful of other Al Bhed girls on her desert island home of Bikanel. While Yuna had tried to explain to her that going to a public school like Besaid's was nothing to go excited about, she suspected that she would be psyched over it until the workload and lack of sleep hit her like a box of hammers to the head. Yuna gave her a silent bet to December.

          "Hey, Yunie, whereya goin'?" Rikku asked as Yuna walked right past the table to the front door.

          "School."

          "It's early, though!"

          "It's six-thirty. I have less than an hour to get there."

          Rikku's spiraled green eyes widened considerably. "On the bike?"

          Yuna rolled her eyes. "You're riding or walking, cuz."

          This got her moving. "Okay, just lemmie get a helmet and we can be outta here." She scrambled with her books and a new motorbike helmet that her father bought for her a few days before, once he knew that his daughter would be taking rides on Yuna's bike. Moments later, the pair was on their way, motoring down the street and out of sight.

Tidus sat in the guidance office, tired and beginning to get really bored. Auron, his legal guardian, had dropped him off here fifteen minutes ago, not letting him drive on the first day because he had no idea where he was going. Now that he had been waiting here to be seen, he was starting to wish that he had stayed and slept in, then taken the bus or something. It was only seven-fifteen, and his old school in Zanarkand had not started until a quarter to nine in the morning. This was a radical shift and he hated it.

          Finally, a woman called his name.

          "Tidus? The counselor will see you now."

          Turned out that the counselor was a short, scrawny, birdlike thing who didn't shut up. Her name was Miss Gao, a woman from Luca. She had a screechy voice that sounded much like the bird she resembled. Glasses perched at the end of her long nose and her little black-button eyes scanned his file paper.

          "Soooo…" she said, looking up at him. "Tidus Reina, you're here all the way from Zanarkand, is it? That's quite a trip."

          "Yea, it took me an Auron three days to get—"

          "Enough yammering," Miss Gao interrupted. "From Zanarkand to Besaid is a radical shift, but I'm sure you'll catch on fair quickly. And you can always come and see me if you need anything. You can leave, now. Your sheepdog is outside waiting."

          "Sheepdog?" Tidus repeated.

          "Someone to show you around… you know, just to show you the ropes for a week or two until you can fend for yourself."

          "Thanks…" he said, not knowing if that was even the right thing to say. This was the first time he had moved. He'd lived in the teeming metropolis of Zanarkand his entire life, and this was indeed a radical shift. Everything here was local. Nothing commercial. He could only hope that they had a decent Blitzball team to keep his mind and body occupied and keep him from going stark raving mad from boredom. He exited the office and found himself face-to-face with a sturdily-built redheaded guy about his age. He wore khakis and a yellow-and-red school shirt. His flaming hair stood up in the front, giving the impression that a shoopuf had snuck up behind him and licked his hair until it stood straight up in the front. [A/N: DOESN'T IT???]

          "You da new guy?" He asked in a heavy accent.

          "Unless there's more than one," Tidus replied. This remark seemed to go way over the other youth's head. "Yea, I'm the new guy. You the sheepdog?"

          "Lemmie guess… Gao told you that one," he said, either guessing really well, or else he knew.

          "Yea…"

          "She d'only one who says dat, brudda." He laughed. "Anyway, da name's Wakka. Who're you?"

          "Tidus."

          "Well, Tidus… welcome to dis hellhole of a school. You kin talk to pretty much anyone here, ya? 'Cept… there's two people you gotta be careful of. Dey're a couple 'a freaks, ya?" He explained as they walked out of the office. He pushed the blonde in front of a glass door that led to a courtyard. The courtyard was empty but for three girls sitting in it. One was a blonde with green eyes, attired in a green skirt and an orange top. The second was a gothic-looking but very lovely girl with very long black hair, red eyes, and wearing a black dress and three belts at once. The third, who sat silently on the ground, was a brunette with short hair and a long braid in the back, mismatched eyes, wearing a pair of patched jeans and a black shirt.

          "A couple of chicks?" Tidus asked, utterly confused.

          "The blonde must be new—poor sap fell in da wrong crowd. But doz odder two… juss keep your guard up, ya? The goth's a BlackMage—her name's Lulu. D'other one is juss weird. Her name's Yuna."

          "She doesn't look that harmful to me," he said, craning her neck to see her face. Another remark that he kept to himself was that he even thought that she was pretty.

          "Yea? Lookit what hand she's usin'."

          Tidus did so, noticing that she was left-handed. He shrugged. "A lefty."

          "You not Catholic, areya?"

          "What's that have to do with anything?"

          "Left-handed is a sign of evil."

          It took a great deal of willpower not to burst into laughter. Tidus had heard of an old wives tale that left-handed people were Satan's messengers in disguise, but he had never heard of anyone in this day and age who actually believed in the myth. He bit his lip, and managed to sincerely ask, "You _believe_ that?"

          "It's in Yevon's teachings," Wakka said. When a snort of laughter escaped Tidus, the redhead narrowed his eyes, then shrugged. "Well, juss keep your guard up, ya hear? Better safe dan sorry, ya."

          Tidus nodded, and a bell rang, signaling that they all had five minutes to get to class or they would be marked absent on the first day. Tidus scrambled to look and his schedule and found that he had, of all things, ceramics first. He rubbed a hand down his face and trudged off to find the room.

          Everyone _in_ the art room seemed to know each other, talking, laughing, sharing summer stories, and joking around. He felt out of place and sat at a table in the back near the supply closet. When the final bell rang, the teacher got up and whistled sharply, quieting everyone down effectively.

          "All right, dearlings, the bell rang. Now you have to look like you know what you're doing. My name is Miss Amí. I'll be your teacher—or at least, I'll pretend to. And you'll pretend I'm actually teaching you something, too, when the administration comes in here to watch me!"

          A blur of color zipped into the room as a blond girl slowed to a walk and stopped, winded, in front of Miss Amí.

          "I'm so sorry I'm late!" She panted. "I got lost and I'm new here—"

          "Hey, hey, it's okay, girl. What're your name?"

          "Rikku. Rikku Meinach."

          "Well, find a seat, Rikku."

          The blonde girl nodded and sat in the back room at the same table as Tidus.

          "Hi," she whispered. "I'm Rikku. What's your name?" She asked.

          "Tidus," he said. He recognized Rikku from earlier, when Wakka had warned him about her companions in the courtyard, but he would not judge a book by the reviews, so to speak. Rikku seemed perfectly harmless. After a moment, Tidus asked, "You're new here, too? So am I."

          "Really? I only know two people. My cousin and her friend."

          "Who are they?"

          "Yuna Bamarre and Lulu D'Anjou."

          Tidus stayed unfazed by this. He didn't really have any reason to fear or hate either of the two supposed "witches" that Wakka had warned him of, and Rikku seemed nice enough.

          "Hey, Yunie's here!" Rikku said suddenly, turning her attention towards where someone was on a potters' wheel in the back room. She didn't say a word all class, nor did she even make herself known to the rest of the class for the next several days. Even so, there was something about her that intrigued Tidus, and he was determined to find out what she was all about.

                                                                                                   ~*~

Well, that's the end of chapter one. No one likes an AU story, but I suppose my pals from KH will read this… in which case I will be very happy and hug them and shower them with praise. And if you _did_ in fact read my story, please, please, _please_ review it! It speeds up chapters, you know!     


	2. The Witches Three, part I

Whoo! I'm pretty tired now, and tomorrow I leave for Georgia, but right now I'm gonna try desperately hard to write chapter 2 up completely. This is considerably longer than chapter one, which will probably remain the shortest chapter in the entire story. I'm glad that those of you who reviewed enjoyed it. It makes meh happeh! ^_^

Yes. I own Final Fantasy X. Square paid _me_ to use them! That is why I scrape through the sofa for lunch money and work at a crummy store…

                                                                                                         ~*~

Chapter 2

The Witches Three (part I)

"How many days until winter break?" Rikku whined, drudging through fallen leaves as she, Yuna, and Lulu walked home from school. They'd been in school for two weeks and already it had become too much for Rikku to handle. Lulu, however, had the answer to her question.

          "Ninety-eight including weekends," she said, face deadpanned.

          "Really? Ninety-eight?"

          "Hard to believe, isn't it?" Lulu absently played with balls of elemental light in the palm of her hand as they walked. She did this when she was bored, but only when she was alone or just with Yuna. She didn't want to be labeled a witch and a traitor to the Yevon religion by the Catholic students at the school. She had enough trouble with merely the rumors of her magic going about. Yuna never said anything about it, as she had her _own_ background issues to deal with. She, like Lulu, was also a mage, but she was a WhiteMage. She was also a halfblood. "Halfblood" was a nasty name for anyone who was half Yevon Catholic, and half something else. In Yuna's case, it was half Al Bhed. No one knew it, though, and she intended to keep it that way. She wanted no one to have any reason to hate her more than they already did.

          "At least it's Friday," the brunette said quietly. "It's about time, too. I can sleep until ten and not be in trouble." She had the nasty habit of sleeping in school. It got her detentions a few times, but eventually teachers would learn just to ignore her when she dropped off.

          "Yunie, is school _always_ like this? This tough I mean. Or does it mellow down after a while?" Rikku asked, hefting her backpack on her bare shoulders. Red marks were left by the straps; apparently, three textbooks were beginning to take their toll on her.

          "Some people get worse, others will eventually mellow down," Lulu answered before Yuna could. "And Rikku—don't tell anyone that you are Al Bhed. People around here are serious Catholics and they have severe hostilities against the Al Bhed because they think that they're all heathens."

          "I'm not a heathen!" Rikku protested. "What's a heathen?"

          Lulu rolled her eyes. "Never mind… just remember not to tell anyone that you're Al Bhed."

          "Okay." She seemed edgy. She didn't know that _everyone _around here would resent her for her lineage. Just the serious ones. But then again, just about everyone here was a severe fanatic religion drone. She wrinkled her nose and decided to change the subject. "So, are we going anywhere this weekend?" She asked in her usual perky voice.

          "You can; I'm not," Yuna said. "Got my paycheck yesterday and I'm gonna go buy some paints and a few canvases."

          "Ohh! Yunie! Well, what about you, Lulu?"

          "Nope. Thanks anyway, though. I try not to leave my house. Witches don't do well in open spaces," she said, wrinkling her nose.

          "The _two of you!" _Rikku snapped, exasperated. She threw her arms up into the air and sighed in defeat. "Oy vey, you _never _have any fun. Well, I'll just call Wakka and Tidus to see if they wanna go see a movie or something tomorrow."

          At this, Lulu and Yuna exchanged glances. Wakka, the very definition of Yevonite Catholic, was friends with a pureblooded Al Bhed girl? It boggled the mind. Because of the death of his younger brother, Chappu, two years ago, Wakka had held pointless hostilities against the Al Bhed because the accident that killed Chappu was with Al Bhed machina. But the Al Bhed themselves were not involved. In fact the accident had been caused by anarchists from Bevelle who randomly chose the young boy on the streets and shot him to death. His body was nearly unrecognizable when the warrior monks brought it back to them.

          Lulu soon left them for the street that led to her own house, and Rikku wand Yuna were again alone to walk home. Wind was starting to blow, getting stronger and stronger, unraveling Rikku's skirt and nearly blowing it over her head.

          "I told you to wear pants," Yuna said as her cousin quickly refastened her skirt about her waist.

          "Hey, Yunie, how come you never wanna do anything? Is there something wrong?"

          "No," Yuna answered a little too quickly. "I just don't like leaving my house. You know that. People scare me."

          "People are scared _of_ you and you _know_ it!" Rikku snapped.

          "Perhaps."

          They began to ascend a hill that led to Yuna's house. It was a sharp incline, leaving both girls winded before the halfway mark.

          "Yunie, how come we're not takin' the bike?"

          "Because _someone's been driving it without my permission it seems… poor baby's outta gas and I had to get your dad to fill it up whilst we were at school."_

          "Well, it wasn't _me!" Rikku said, looking quite upset that her cousin would so much as suggest something like that._

          "Never said it was, Pypa," Yuna said. "Pypa" was her little pet-name for Rikku. It was the Al Bhed word for "babe," and this way no one would suspect something stupid, like incest, from the name because they didn't know what it meant.

          They managed to make it to the top of the hill, where they unlocked the house and went inside. Cid was still at work, so they would have the house to themselves for a few hours until he got home. And if he wasn't home by dinner, they were ordering pizza—no two ways about it. Yuna just put her things down and went out again, looking for art supplies. While she was gone Rikku had a long conversation on the telephone with Wakka and Tidus and agreed to meet them at about eleven the next morning to see a movie. Once Yuna got back, the blonde immediately started to harass her about it.

          "Oh, come on, Yu-_na!" Rikku stressed the second syllable in her name. "Come and have some fun with me! You can't just stay locked up in this house for forever, you know! You gotta get out, do stuff… meet hot guys!"_

          "No."

          "Please?"

          "No."

          "What if I accidentally let it slip that I'm Al Bhed?"

          "Then you're screwed. Wakka _hates the Al Bhed."_

          "Then what if, after that, I let it slip that you're my cousin and you're half-Al Bhed? What'll ya do then, huh?"

          "Deny it."

          "Yunie!"

          Yuna turned around, growling at her cousin. "Look, if I agree to go with you, will you stop _bugging me?" She demanded._

          Rikku nodded, squealing.

          "Okay… fine. I'll go!" She threw her hands up in defeat. "You happy now?" As an answer, the Al Bhed girl threw her arms about her cousins' waist and squeezed her so tightly that she gasped for air. "Rikku! Lemmie go… I need to breathe…"

          "Oh, sorry!" She let go. "And you won't regret this, I promise! You'll have plenty of fun tomorrow!" She skipped down the stairs to order pizza. Yuna shook her head. She decided that she would just humor her cousin, rather than argue. She knew she would probably lose anyway, and it was best to save her breath for something worthwhile.

          She flipped through her sketches to find a few suitable for turning into a painting. She agonized for a while over several before deciding on one drawing of her dog, Ursa, laying on the ground with her head on her gigantic paws and her eyes slipping shut, and one picture of Lulu, perched elegantly on a bench in the school courtyard, looking into the distance with a dreamy, far-off look on her face. She wondered briefly if she could draw her friend sitting on the ground _with her dog, but decided that that would never happen. Lulu was just _too_ dignified to ever sit on the ground._

          The following morning came cold, damp, and drizzly. Yuna hoped that Rikku would see the weather and decide not to leave the house, but no suck luck—at nine-thirty, Rikku came into her room and let Ursa in, wet paws and all. The dog leaped onto her bed and nuzzled her mistress with a wet muzzle, wanting her to get up and play. Yuna, still very tired, covered her head with the blankets and tried to ignore the one-hundred-and-thirty-pound dog walking on top of her.

          "Yuuuunie!" Rikku chirped. Yuna growled, groping for something to throw at her cousin.

          "Go away," she threatened, voice muffled.

          "Why?"

          "Because I'm sleeping."

          "No you aren't."

          "Yea, I am."

          "Nuh-uh!"

          "Am, too."

          "Daddy!" Rikku yelled, stomping out of Yuna's bedroom. "Yunie's in here arguing in her sleep!"

          "Damn straight." She hoped that she had won this battle, but again, no luck. Ever-persistent Rikku was just as stubborn and determined as she was. The blonde bounded back into her room and leaped onto her bed, flinging off the covers and rolling her over so that she practically _peeled_ her cousins eyelids open.

          "Come on, Yunie! Get _up!"_

          This was the last straw. Yuna lurched upright and shook her cousin off, rubbing her face tiredly when it was freed from the Al Bhed girl's grasp.

          "Watch it, Rikku," she warned. "You know what they say: 'Let sleeping fiends lie.'"

          Seemingly oblivious to Yuna's bad mood, Rikku picked through her cousins' clothes, looking to pick something out for her. She opened the closet and all of the drawers, searching for clothes that fit her own taste.

          "You freak!" Yuna yelled. "Get out of my underwear drawer!" She stumbled over the sheets, her clothes, and her own two feet to confront Rikku.

          "D'you own anything that's not _stained?" Rikku demanded. "We're going out in _public_ today, in case you'd forgotten."_

          "Oh, no, Pypa, I haven't forgotten—not that I've not tried, though," she grabbed the armful of clothes from Rikku's grasp and threw them onto the floor.

          "Well, you'd best wear _something nice!" Rikku said. "You don't want 'em thinking you're a slob, do ya?" She asked, hands on her hips._

          "What do I care?" Yuna snapped back. "This is a one-shot affair. In, out, on with life—it'll never happen again. Besides that, guys never notice what girls are wearing."

          "Yea they do."

          "No, they don't."

          "Yes they do! Trust me, I've got a brother. I _know_ these things!"

          "Rikku, the only way a guy would notice what a girl was wearing is if he was attempting to devise a way to get _into them."_

          "You're sick!"

          "No, I'm tired. Scat."

          Rikku loosed a sigh. This was going nowhere fast, so she took action. She grabbed Yuna by the ponytail and dragged her out of the room, tossing her into the bathroom and slamming the door closed behind her.

          "Stay right there, I'll get you some clothes!" She yelled through the door, scampering off to her own room to find some clothes. Yuna groaned, resigned to her fate.

          'Choose your battles,' she thought to herself. Arguing long hours with Kimahri over the years had taught her that some things were worth fighting for, and others should just be ignored, and this was one of those petty things that should be better off ignored.

          Rikku's desert rearing showed in the clothing she picked for her cousin: a short purple skirt and a white top that looked like it was made from a triangle of white cloth and folded to make a shirt. [A/N: Think of Yuna's summoner-shirt.] She wordlessly barged into the bathroom to give it to her. This startled the already agitated teenager.

          _"Rikku!" She shrieked. "You __freak! You __pervert! Get out of my bathroom!" She hid herself behind the shower curtain, eyes blazing as she stared at her cousin, who was again oblivious to her nasty mood._

          "Oh, grow _up will you? It's not like you've got anything I don't."_

          "Nice, luv."

          "Besides, I brought you clothes."

          "I coulda gotten my own. Just woulda had to walk to my room in a towel."

          "First you get mad at your own cousin for walking in on you in the bathroom and now you're willing to risk letting _Brother see you in a towel and no more?" Rikku asked, a disgusted look on her face._

          "It's my house." Finally fed up, she picked up a bar of soap and hurled it at her cousin. Rikku dodged it and ducked, giggling, out of the bathroom. She stuck her head back in long enough to tell Yuna not to wear her boots or her sneakers, that she would lend her a pair of flip-flops.

          Finally left in peace, Yuna showered and dressed, pulling on her boots just to spite her cousin. All of her leg that was visible now was her knee. She hated the skirt, but to humor Rikku she wore it anyway… just because.

          "Yunie, we're leaving soon." Rikku knocked on the bathroom door for the first time that morning.

          "I'm decent," Yuna said. Rikku walked in.

          "The boots look nice," the blonde said, glancing down at her cousins' choice of shoes.

          "Like I care. I just won't wear sandals is all."

          "Oh, come on, Yunie, you look _nice! There's nothing wrong with looking nice for a change."_

          "As opposed to what?"

          "Like a starving artist who has to burn her paintings to keep warm."

          "Nice, Rikku. So how you planning on getting to town again? You dunno where I keep my keys."

          Rikku growled and screwed up her face. "You win," she said. She snatched up her helmet from the hall table and followed Yuna outside to her bike, setting off in the drizzle.

                                                                                                   ~*~

Whew… okay, so I didn't exactly finish this chapter before I left for Georgia because I got _back_ yesterday! It's eleven hours in the freakin' car. Oy. I hated it. But anyway, this is part one of chapter two, because chapter two is a looong chapter. It's five written pages (front _and back) and not even finished yet, so I'll post the other parts of this when they're done. Until then, just talk amongst yourselves!_

Oh, does anyone else notice how infatuated Brother seems to be with Yuna in X-2?? I mean… he wants to see her dancing, and he seems to care for her a little bit _past that "brotherly love" stage. He's her cousin! Ew! That's… nasty! *shiver* I am now off to beat my brother savagely until he surrenders the PlayStation. Adios and if you read please be so kind as to drop a review!  _


	3. The Witchest Three, part II

Woohoo… okay, my general laziness has made me not write until now and I hope to finish this part TODAY. Unlikely, but hey, I can dream. Part two of chapter two is here, luvs! Celebrate!

I do not own Final Fantasy. Remember this; it will be on the quiz.

                                                                                                             ~*~

Chapter 2

The Witches Three

Pt. 2

It had stopped raining hard a few hours ago, but the sky still spritzed and the ground was covered in puddles. The ill-kempt roads of Besaid were full of potholes—and thus full of puddles. Yuna tried her best to avoid them but every so often would drive through a puddle and soak them both. She pulled to a stop in front of the theatre, where two guys were talking with their backs turned to them. Rikku scrambled with her helmet to take it off.

          "Hey! Hey, guys, I'm over here!" She called, waving to get hteir attention. Both Wakka and Tidus turned.

          "Hey, Rikku! We was worried, ya? Didn't know if you'd stood us up or not," the redhead joked. Rikku sniggered.

          "Nah," she joked. "I wouldn't do that to you… often."

          "So, uh… who's da friend?" Wakka nodded towards Yuna, who had not yet removed her helmet. She was holding the bike up with one leg and looking at the trio with her head cocked slightly to one side.

          "It's just my cuz—hey, take the helmet off!" Rikku demanded, fists on her hips.

          "Huh? Oh, yea… sorry," Yuna sounded a little absent and far-off. She bent her head down and pulled the helmet over her hair, which had flattened itself to her skull over the course of their trip. She looked from Wakka to Tidus, head still cocked to the side. She said nothing.

          "R-rikku," Wakka gulped. "You're cousin is _Yuna?_ Yuna Bamarre?" He obviously had trouble believing it.

          "Yea… what of it?" Yuna asked in a monotone sort of voice. She put her hands on her hips and left her helmet with her bike—no one would ever dream of stealing from _her_ so she didn't have to worry about it. "We're related so there's nothing we can do about it, but if there_ was_ something to be done about it, I'd've done it."

          Wakka now looked even _more _shocked than before. "Hey! You can talk!"

          "'Course I can," Yuna snapped.

          "But I mean… I always thought you was mute, ya? Cuz you never talk to no one at school. It's just… ah, ferget it."

          "Gladly."

          "Why don't we get a move on?" Tidus suggested. He'd been silent and they had mostly forgotten he was even there. Yuna sighed an inward sigh and was silently grateful for his timing. She was getting nervous talking so much. The boys took the lead, and a few paces behind them Yuna pulled Rikku over roughly by her arm.

          "Rikku," she whispered in a strained voice. "Rikku, ohh my _God_ your friend is _gorgeous!"_ She swooned slightly.

          "Who?" Rikku whispered back, trying to pry Yuna's death grip off of her arm before she amputated it. "Wakka?"

          "No… the other one. Who's he?"

          _"Tidus?"_ Rikku asked, eyes going wide. "You like _Tidus?"_ She grinned. "Oh, he's the new guy! He'd be sooo psyched if he knew a girl had the hots for him!" She pranced from foot to foot and giggled softly.

          "No! No, you don't. Don't tell him. Besides, I don't _like _him, I just think he's cute."

          "Cute?"

          "Hot." She supplied. "Gorgeous. Attractive. Hell, he's dead sexy!"

          "Aww… why can't I tell him?"

          "Do you enjoy living?"

          Rikku didn't answer.

          "Do you wanna be hacked up in a blender and buried in a _shoebox?"_ She hissed.

          "No," her cousin replied meekly.

          "Then you won't tell him."

          "Ey! Rikku! C'mon, ya? Slowpoke!"

          Both girls trotted to catch up.

          Yuna couldn't sit still in the theatre. She kept twitching, and she was sitting next to Tidus which was not helping her any. She started to shiver, and eventually, she had to get up and leave to go outside and get a breath of fresh air. She'd never actually been this close to a guy she thought was cute before. It was not unlike being in the zoo, she decided, and admiring the tigers and lions from afar, but then being let into the cages and being face-to-face with the big carnivores.

          She wasn't sure how long she'd been out there, but the sun was peeking from behind the clouds and eventually she heard someone behind her and she figured that it was Rikku come to check up on her. That was, until the person spoke.

          "You okay?" The voice belonged to Tidus.

          "Oh!" She turned suddenly, hands on her heart, and took a couple of steps back. She said nothing else, and avoided his gaze, so he tried again.

          "Why'd you leave?"

          "Rikku sent you out here, didn't she?" Yuna asked. She sat on the curb, getting Rikku's skirt and her behind wet.

          "Not really," he replied, sitting next to her.

          "Whatcha mean, 'not really'?" She asked, turning to him suspiciously.

          "I mean she said that you'd left and wondered where you had gone, and Wakka was too scared to come out here and look for you, so I came," he explained.

          "Wakka was scared?" She couldn't help but grin.

          "Not in so many words but you can tell he's not readily gonna come out here for you."

          Yuna was out of replies, and they sat in silence for a few minutes and the bubble between them was getting bigger and bigger. Eventually, it seemed fortune had decided to take pity on her and present to her Lulu, who walked across the street looking ominous and threatening—like always. She wore a black dress and carried a fleecy gray bag around her neck and one arm. Yuna saw her and stood, giving a sharp whistle to get her attention. Lulu quickly came over.

          Tidus looked nervous, rightfully so, around Lulu. Her ominous presence gave a sort of… fear. She was an unknown. No one ever quite knew what to expect with her. She merely glanced from Tidus to Yuna and back again a few times before she finally said, _"Qui est le blond?"_

          "I'll explain later," Yuna said, having understood what her friend just told her. "Tidus, go tell Rikku I've gone with Lulu. And if you can avoid it, don't tell Wakka." She nodded quickly to him and trotted off, leaving him standing there confused.

          "Sure…" he trailed off.

          "Thanks!" Yuna called over her shoulder. She couldn't believe she had spoken so much to him, but then again, he didn't judge her and he didn't think she was a witch.

          After a few minutes, Lulu spoke, saying, "You look nice. Any occasion?"

          "Rikku made me do it," she replied softly, going to put her hands in her pockets until she remembered that she didn't _have_ pockets to put them in. "It's making me nervous. I mean… what if I bump into someone that I maybe kinda sorta don't wanna bump into?"

          "Like who?"

          "Hello, ladies."

          Yuna winced and both of them turned to see Seymour Guado, a teacher from their school, standing there behind them, wearing a sinister smirk. Yuna gulped. Seymour had had a "thing" for her since he first laid eyes on her three years ago. Since then he had wormed his way into getting her in his classes every year. He hadn't ever _dared_ to do anything more, because it would mean facing the wrath of Kimahri Ronso, and the prospect of it kept him at bay. But with her guardian now gone to Gagazet, Yuna was now a sitting duck, helpless, with her tail hanging out. Seymour seemed to know, as well, that he had a shot at her now that he didn't have before. He was a cruel-looking man, with snarled, frazzled blue hair and thin, reptilian lips, long hands and fingers and to top it all off, he had varicose veins in his face. It was disgusting to look at. His only good trait was his eyes—beautiful purple eyes and long eyelashes.

          "Hello, Mister Seymour," Lulu said bravely, keeping eye contact with the man as if to say, 'I'm not afraid of you. You can't hurt me.' She put herself between the teacher and her friend. Yuna in turn nodded politely to him, biting her lip so hard that she nearly broke the skin and bled.

          "Please, there is no need for formalities here… we have known each other long enough to be informal when in private," he said in his oily little voice. "Yuna, how are you? It is good to see you outside of school."

          Yuna felt the blood drain from her head and she felt lightheaded. She managed to squeak out, "I'm fine, thank you." She gripped Lulu's arm tightly, using her nails to dig into the skin. She gave her friend a look that _begged_ for her to do something—_anything—to get Seymour away from them. Lulu had an idea but it would involve leaving Yuna alone with the man, though just for a few seconds. The plan she had in mind would undoubtedly work, and give them a good laugh._

          "Excuse me," she said, backing away. "I'll be right back."

          The look that Yuna gave to her was one of total betrayal. Lulu shook her head and ducked behind a huge weeping willow, shielded by the drooping branches. She took off her bag and opened it up, allowing a bewitched magical doll to leap out, shaking like a wet dog now that it was roused from its' rest. The Moomba looked at Lulu, waiting for her instructions.

          "Moomba," she whispered. "You see that man over there with Yuna? The ugly one with blue hair?"

          The Moomba nodded.

          "Distract him long enough for Yuna to get away. I don't care how you do it, but _do it! Make him make a scene and a fool of himself but whatever you do, don't be seen. When we're away, come and find me. I'll be at Yuna's house or at mine. Got it?"_

          The enchanted doll nodded.

          "Good. Now go!" She loosed the doll in the streets and it made its' way over to Seymour, climbed up his back and into his rats' nest of hair, and began to claw and bite at him. Seymour immediately screamed, thrashing to get the creature off of him, but the Moomba was not visible. Yuna saw her chance and ran for it, Lulu running in her own strange way to catch up. Together, they made it away from the town, to Yunas' bike, and home just as a crowd gathered around Seymour.

          Later on, Lulu brought her a cup of tea, She was wrapped in a blanket and her eyes were red from crying. She hated Seymour. She hated him so much for frightening her like this. She resisted his advances but he just kept coming. She didn't know what to do. Lulu knew of this and wanted her to get help, but Yuna was stubborn and told her that no one would believe her word over his, as he was a highly respected man.

          "Yuna, drink something. You threw your guts up four hours ago and you need something in your system," Lulu commanded. Yuna took the drink and sipped it.

          "Thank you," she whispered.

          "You wanna hang out around here for a while?"

          "Please. If it's not too much trouble."

          "None. Although you should probably tell your uncle where you've gone—"

          "No! Just… I need to lay low. He can't know. I'll spin a tale, but please don't tell. You know I made you swear not to tell, so don't break that promise now!"

          "Or you'll put me in a blender and bury me in a shoebox?"

          "Exactly."

          Night fell outside, and a rapping at the window turned their attention to a tired-looking Moomba. It had probably gotten lost trying to find its' mistress again. Eventually, when Yuna was stable enough to drive her bike, she hopped on and left Lulu's home to go to her own, having thought of an excuse to tell Cid.

                                                                                                             ~*~

AHH! I'm sorry! It's been a little while, I know. I've bee busy because exams start at the END OF NEXT WEEK! But then I only have to go to school half a day, so I'll either no go to school until 10, or I come home at 10. Either way, I get home two hours early, too. Noon-ish. Whoo! Please tell me whatcha think of this chapter. Now, at least, it has some substance. The Seymour thing will be a MAJOR part of the Yuna-Tidus plot. But I won't give any spoilers unless you want 'em.

NEXT TIME ON, "NOT WHAT IT APPEARS":

Seymour learns something about Yuna and makes a deal with her that she can't refuse. The Witches Three have some fun on Halloween with their clothes, Tidus smells a rat on Seymour, and Wakka… well, Wakka's just Wakka. 


	4. Blackmailed!

I really hate coming back to school. I wish they would ease us into it slowly, like have first one day of school, then two, then three, then five. Alas. Not to mention the fact that I have cramps that coulda stopped _GODZILLA_ in his tracks! Okay, enough bitching. Lemmie write.

I own nothing. Those of you who have not yet figured that out should promptly turn around and run from the room in pure terror while I come after you with a meat tenderizer.

                                                                                                         ~*~

Chapter 3:

Blackmailed!

"Yuna Bamarre, you _ditched me!"_ Rikku was in a sour mood and was pacing in front of Yuna, screaming and shaking her fist. Yuna had told Cid a boldfaced lie, and her uncle had bought it. But that didn't mean Rikku would. She was positively _enraged._

          "Rikku, please understand," she said softly, "but I had no choice. Don't ask, but please you _have_ to believe me!" She begged.

          "Vey… Yunie, what coulda happened? What would she've done? Forced you at Moomba-point?"

          "No—"

          "Firaga or Thundaga spell?"

          "Rikku—"

          "Did she—"

          "Seymour Guado is stalking me!" She buried her face in her hands after she spilled her secret. Rikku's eyes widened.

          "Mister Seymour? From school?" She knelt down next to her on the floor, putting her arm around her shoulders.

          "Yes," she admitted. She felt her cousin had a right to know this. "He's been stalking me for three years. Since I was in ninth grade. He wants me. And I know what he wants me _for. _But Rikku, you have to understand, you absolutely _cannot_ let this slip. Understand?" Rikku knew this voice. It was the voice that meant business.

          "Okay, Yunie. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

          "Nobody does. Only Lulu does. She has also been sworn to secrecy." She went to her bedroom door and walked into the room. Ursa was sleeping on her bed. "Night, Rikku."

          That night, Yuna slept fitfully, waking up often in a cold sweat only to have the details of her nightmares slip from her grasp. The only thing she remembered about them was that they featured Seymour and herself. She eventually was too afraid to close her eyes again; too afraid to let herself go back to sleep.

          The next morning, she stumbled downstairs in a groggy, sleepy daze. Cid offered to drive them to a movie or to the mall before he left for work. Rikku accepted but Yuna declined. She felt she needed to stay home today. Instead, she drank black coffee and tried to work on her painting. Eventually, she had to call Lulu and hope that her friend could talk sense into her.

          "I'm serious, Lu, I think I'm going mad!"

          "Yuna, luv, I wish I could tell you to just forget it. You called because you wanted me to talk sense, but I can't right now—not in face of these changes."

          "What changes?" Yuna looked at the telephone funny.

          "Well, look—Kimahri was your guardian, right? No one dared to cross a Ronso, and he protected you for years. That's why Seymour never actually made a pass at you. But now… now he's gone. In Gagazet, which is a fair distance from here. He's got a chance at you that he never had before. He'll be more aggressive, Yuna. Look, you're my friend and I don't want that creep to hurt you. Promise me—promise me you'll tell someone."

          Silence from Yuna's end.

          "Yuna, dammit, _promise me!"_ There was a crack to Lulu's voice.

          "Okay… I promise," Yuna replied meekly.

          "Rikku doesn't count you know."

          Yuna nodded, even though she knew Lulu couldn't see it. "I know," she whispered. "I'll tell. I'll have to… this has gone on long enough."

          "Good," Lulu said, sounding a bid more confident. "And if you break that promise, I'll have your knees broken."

          "Don't be silly," Yuna said, mood lightened. "Where are you gonna get the fifteen-hundred gil to have that done?"

          Usually, after such encounters with Seymour, Yuna would fake sick and stay home from school the following school day. But she didn't this time; as a senior, she couldn't chance it. Instead, she held her head high and assailed her dignity as she entered Symour Guado's classroom.

          "Good morning, Yuna," he said to her. "Are you not warm wearing that?" He pointed to her attire—jeans and a shapeless shirt. It was warm out and inside, but she would _never_ show any skin, for fear of enticing Seymour. Yuna felt anger boil in her stomach, but she forced it down.

          "Good day, sir," she said softly, not looking at him and instead taking her seat and waiting for the rest of the class. She usually paid attention to what he was saying, but today her mind wandered from Ancient Spiran History to the people in her class, specifically one person that she had not noticed there before: Tidus Reina. He fell fast asleep halfway through the class, drooling all over his hand.

          "Tidus Reina!" Seymour snapped. "Is there a reason why you are asleep in my class?" Tidus did not stir. "Somebody wake him up!" He demanded. A few wise guys decided it would be funny to chuck balls of paper and bubblegum wrappers at him. Eventually, the teenager was roused from his nap.

          "I'm up," he grumbled, yawning casually and rubbing his eyes.

          "Tidus Reina."

          "Yo," he leaned back in his chair, obviously not at all frightened by Seymour.

          "I _insist_ you share with the class your reasoning for falling asleep."

          "It's early—I'm tired. Is that reason enough?" He asked, the definition of innocence written in his eyes.

          "I'm afraid that's not a legitimate answer. Can you not _give me a legitimate answer, or do you know what a legitimate answer __constitutes?" Seymour growled, seemingly quite pleased with himself when Tidus did not answer. "Speak up, boy!"_

          "I'm dealing here with a double-bladed sword," Tidus replied confidently. "If I refuse to give you my real answer for falling asleep in class, you'll give me a detention; if I _do give it, you'll give me a detention anyway because you'll think I'm a disrespectful little cunt."_

          The class gasped at his crude dialect in front of a teacher. Seymour began to fume slightly, and Yuna swore she could see smoke coming out of his ears like when a teapot heats up.

          You _will answer the question, boy!" He hissed._

          "Fine. Your class is boring me to _death._ For a while, I wasn't sure if I had fallen asleep or if it was actually possible to _die_ of boredom!"

          Seymour's already unattractive face twisted, giving the impression that he was suffering from a sudden ruptured appendix. His eyes blazed as he and Tidus had a brief stare-down; icy purple eyes met calm blue.

          "You—get out. Get _out of my classroom, this minute!" He pointed to the door._

          "I told you I was playing with a double-edged sword. Well, I caught one edge, and I guess it doesn't matter because I'm outta here. Adios, Mister Seymour!" He left the room with a mock-bow. A few people sniggered softly and others whispered amongst themselves.

          "You find this _funny?" He growled at them. Everyone immediately shut up. "Thought so." He turned to the board and went back to his lesson. Yuna, however, was thinking about what had just happened. Tidus stood up to Seymour. No one really ever did. He was a widely respected man, at least in the school. Tidus must have been able to smell the same rotten stench on him that she could. She wanted to ask him, but she was too afraid to talk to him._

          The bell rang, signaling the end of class, and students began to file out of the room.

          "Yuna? May I have a word with you?" He asked sweetly. Ice dripped from the words though. What did he have planned? And why was he smiling? Yuna shuddered but did not have the will nor the authority to refuse, and panic took away her ability to lie and make up very good excuses for not coming. She nodded slowly and sat back down, feeling the sweat forming on her forehead and dripping down her back. Nobody entered the room, so he probably didn't have a class this period. She felt herself trembling violently. She looked down at her hands, trying to distract herself, and then began chewing on her nails out of nervousness, wincing at the distastefulness of clay caked into her nails.

          "Yuna, come sit," he gestured to the seat nearest to his desk. "No need for me to have to talk to you across the room when there is no one but for the two of us in it."

          "All right," she said quietly, sitting on the edge of the chair and avoiding looking at him; even so, she could feel his eyes on her. Suddenly, he got up, closing the classroom door, then turning to face her for a moment or two. Then he came back to his desk and leaned against it, so that he was closer to Yuna than he had been before.

          "Yuna, I have known you a long time. Since you were a freshman at this school," Seymour began.

          "I know, sir," Yuna said, keeping her voice low and her head lower.

          "You've grown and matured into a fine young woman, Yuna Bamarre." His voice had acquired a sort of audible smirk to it. He went on. "You were never truly accepted at this school, as a person. No one ever really truly liked you, did they?" He asked. Yuna stayed deathly still, almost not daring to breathe. What was he getting at? He reached one of his long hands out to touch her arm. This snapped her back into reality and she jerked back as quickly as she could.

          "What are you getting at?" She asked quickly. The bell rang, and she was now late for class. "Damn."

          "I'll write you a pass," he said casually, standing up. "Sit back down."

          She stayed up, keeping a firm grip on her backpack strap. If he made a move, she could defend herself by hitting him with it because the damn thing weighed thirty pounds. Though if she knocked him out she'd have a lawsuit on her hands…

          "You can get away from all of this you know," he said. "You can get away from these people."

          "What do you mean?" She had a feeling she knew what he meant but she wasn't sure.

          "You're old enough, now. You can leave school."

          "Why would I want to?" She backed up an inch at a time. She'd bloody hit him if he made a pass at her here, with just the two of them in this windowless classroom and the door locked behind them…

          "Come and live with me." The words dropped like icicles on the floor.

          "No," Yuna planted her feet firmly. For the first time, she was standing up to him. She was shaken down to her underwear but she was also not about to let him force her into _this. It was one thing for him to flirt with and hit on her. It was another to suggest a relationship like _that.__

          "A shame, then," Seymour said casually. "Would it not be a shame, then, if everyone found out your dirty secret?"

          "What secret? I'm a WhiteMage—everyone knows it."

          "You have a cousin in this school—by the last name of Meinach. I am a Spiran History teacher, Miss Bamarre. I know full well that 'Meinach' is an Al Bhed name. Your cousin is an Al Bhed. And you, Yuna, are a halfblood."

          Yuna froze. Realization hit her like a blitzball to the stomach, much with the same effect. He was blackmailing her! Blackmailing her to move in with him and drop out of school, no less.

          "You… _wouldn't," _she stuttered.

          "Finish this semester, and then let me know your answer. I trust that is enough time for you to think it through, finish unfinished business?"

          Yuna couldn't take anymore. She up and left the room, running through the door. She hit someone in the hallway a few feet outside of Seymour's classroom but kept going. She made it safely to the girls bathroom on the other side of the school where she promptly threw her guts up and collapsed on her knees on the tile. Thoughts raced through her mind, quickly and erratically. One thing came to mind, however…

          Her promise to Lulu. She had promised to get help. She had promised to tell someone about Seymour and see that he was stopped. She decided that she would have to act fast. People here respected Seymour, but… Lulu knew the truth. So did Rikku. Tidus was new and obviously didn't like Seymour because of the way he acted in class. Would they listen to her? She could only hope…

                                                                                                   ~*~

DUNDUNDUN! Cliffy! I know; bad, bad VL. But at least it'll keep ya reading. I'll have more stuff up probably Tuesday or Wednesday (Mondays are hectic around here!) so keep checking! Now you know what the plot in this story is. I have never seen this done before and I'll admit to reading most of the AU Highschool Story fics around here. I'll have some Yuna+Tidus interaction in the next chapter, as well. I haven't decided, though, whether I should make Tidus A) burn himself or B) cut himself. What do _you_ think? Review and let me know.

STILL TO COME:

The Witches Three have their time in the spotlight with a Halloween gig that makes everyone stop and think a while. Tidus gets to know Yuna better and discovers that you can't believe _everything_ you hear, especially not in public school. Wakka gots the hots for someone—who is it?—and Yuna gathers all the courage she can to confront people about Seymour Guado.   


	5. October Sky

I'm starting to write this Monday, but it isn't going to be posted today because in an hour I leave for my weekly shrink appointment. Still have my cramps which could _still_ bloody knock GODZILLA over. Not to worry, though… this too shall pass. Besides that, I have Yuna+Tidus interactions planned out for later on this chapter. And on a note about Yuna, Rikku, and Lulu's Halloween costumes—the idea came from something that my friend Hana did one year, switching clothes with her friend and wearing a sign that said, "Don't Judge Me." I liked that idea, so I decided to do it here. Adios, and enjoy the read!

No… this can't be! It's not possible, I tell you! I've run out of insults! No! *sob*

                                                                                                            ~*~

Chapter 4:

October Sky

"This is so awesome, Lulu!" Rikku squeaked, rummaging through Yuna's bangles and bracelets and putting on as many as she could. "Where'd you get this idea?" She traveled to the mirror against the door, looking at herself in her new attire. She wore her cousin's shirt, but her own faded flare-legged jeans with the legs cut and fabric sewn in to make the legs flare out even more. She wore sneakers on her feet and her hair in a simple ponytail. On her arms and neck, however, there were enough bangles, bracelets, and witchy-looking charms to give her another five pounds of weight. Halloween was the following day and although they didn't go out for candy anymore, it was a Friday and they wanted to dress up. Just for the hell of it. It had been Lulu's idea to switch clothes and wear signs that said, "Don't Judge Me." It would prove that the person should not be judged by appearances.

          "It was just a thought. Hell, when people see you dressed like Yuna, they'll have a conniption," Lulu said to the blonde girl. Rikku had fallen in with the "In" crowd but was still good friends with Yuna and Lulu. They suspected her friendship with Wakka had something to do with it. Lulu shoved the Al Bhed girl out of the way and took a look at herself in the mirror, wearing Rikku-style clothes. She choked on her own tongue, then burst out laughing, leaning on the adjacent wall for support. She had picked the tallest boots that she could find, which came up a little past her knees and were made of soft brown suede. Her shorts were black and didn't even come down to her fingers; attached to her belt was a long white-and-purple half-skirt with a fringe on the bottom. A black shirt and long purple gloves adorned her upper body.

          Yuna was the last to inspect herself, struggling in Lulu's heavy dress. She had outright _refused_ to wear Rikku's clothes—they exposed too much skin. But she had fun with Lulu's black dress with the unusual decoration of gray lace and a front-full of belts. She wore three necklaces, and a ton of glass beads in her hair and a belt of them around her waist. She giggled at seeing her reflection, although she kept one hand up on the front of the dress, lest it fall down.

          "Yunie, put your hands down!" Rikku giggled.

          "I can't," Yuna replied, still admiring her own reflection. She found it hard to move in this dress but she would get used to it. And if worse came to worse, she would pack jeans and a t-shirt to wear.

          "How come?"

          "I need boobs." She admitted. It was true—Lulu was a lot more "full" than she was. She looked around her room, debating with her friends whether to stuff the dress with tissues or socks. Eventually they decided on tissues. To complete the ensemble, Yuna drew on her left leg where Lulu had a black lacey tattoo. On her own leg, she drew a sort of Ronso-tribe design [A/N: Like a Native American beadwork design] with black pen. She decided that she liked the way she looked like this. She giggled, picking up an embroidered piece of black cloth containing the words, "Don't Judge Me" in white thread.

          "We're gonna be such a _hit!"_ Rikku squealed, raising her arms in the air and letting all of the bracelets fall to her shoulders from the sudden incline. "And Lulu, you're so pretty dressed like that!" She pawed the air in front of her with her hands like a kitten.

          _"Je pense que j'ai l'air d'une prostitutée française."_ Lulu said, though she grinned mischievously at her own comment.

          "Yunie, what'd she say?" Rikku asked.

          "She—she said that—" she snickered and began to lose control of herself for laughing. "That she thinks she looks like a French hooker!" She fell over, laughing hysterically.

          Since they were going to need each other's clothes and help to get ready in the morning, they stayed at Yuna's house, sleeping on the floor in her room. Ursa waltzed in around midnight and promptly trod on everyone.

          "Yuna… _votre chien pèse plus que je fais!"_ ["Yuna… your dog weighs more than I do!"] Lulu choked from beneath the weight of paws and fur.

          Yuna turned in her half-sleep, murmuring, _"Arrepentido, voy a comer menos…" _["Sorry, I'll eat less."]

          "Boy I really hate when you guys speak other languages… makes it hard for me to understand what you're saying!" Rikku chirped.

          "Shut up, Rikku," Yuna growled.

          "Hey, come on, guys, we're supposed to be having fun!" The blonde switched on a light and sat up in her sleeping bag.

          "Rikku, hand me that book over there," Lulu pointed to a book laying on the floor near Rikku. She began to comply but then stopped, looking slyly at the mage.

          "No, you're gonna hit me with it."

          "No, I won't—I promise."

          Rikku handed her the book. Lulu, in turn, handed it to Yuna, who swatted her cousin with it. She shut the light.

          "Sleep-time now. Fun can come tomorrow night. It'll be Friday and we can stay up 'til the cows come home watching movies."

          "Like 'Young Frankenstein'?" Rikku perked up. The movie was one of her favorites but she never used to get to see it often because it was in Common, not in Al Bhed, and no one in Home wanted to watch it because they couldn't understand it although a few times she had translated the lines for her friends.

          "Got is just for you."

          "Ohh, thank you, Yunie!" Rikku squeaked.

          "Rikku, shut up."

          Morning came, and with it their costumes. It was the only time so far that year that Cid, Rikku, or Brother didn't have to come dragging Yuna out of bed by her feet. The three of them quickly got out of bed and dressed, and Lulu gave them a ride to school in her car, as they would not all fit into Cid's little Al Bhed car or onto Yuna's bike.

          "Everyone got their signs on?" Rikku asked before they stepped out into the parking lot. They all wore their sign attached somewhere on their clothes.

          "Here goes," Yuna opened the door and stepped out. Her friends followed suit. It didn't appear that anyone really noticed them until after they got into the building and Wakka approached Rikku, looking confused about her style of dress.

          "Ey! Rikku! What you doin' here dressed like Yuna, ya?" He asked, looking from Rikku, to Yuna, to Lulu. His gaze lingered on Lulu for a moment longer than it should have. Slowly, he lowered his books in front of himself. "People're gonna think you look weird, ya?" He managed to spit out. Rikku quickly turned and showed him the sign that she had pinned on her back with safety pins. "Why would I judge you?" He seemed more confused now than before.

          "The person makes the clothes—the clothes don't make the person," Yuna said boldly. She was nervous about her clothing. She wondered if anyone would be able to tell that she had stuffed her bosom. She was getting stares—all of them were. She couldn't help but feel sort of powerful and sexy and mysterious in this dress, though, and she shot someone a wicked-evil glare for no reason, and he ran off like a scared chocobo.

          "I _like_ this," Yuna whispered to the side. Bells rang, and students, many of whom were in costume, dashed off to class, some of them clumsy with their many accessories of their costumes. Yuna didn't want to get her dress dirty, since it wasn't even really _her_ dress, so she got permission to sit in the library and use the computers instead of going to the pottery wheels in first period.

          _"What_ is your cousin _wearing,_ Rikku?" Tidus asked in a low voice in the art room. "It's like you three all just switched clothes!"

          "We did," Rikku replied, up to her elbows in red clay. She reached up to scratch her cheek, smearing the clay across her face. "She's wearing Lulu's dress. Looks hot on her, doncha think?" She asked. Tidus looked at her strangely. "No, I'm not saying I'd date her, but I mean… she's pretty, ya know?"

          "Yea…" Tidus looked for her in the back where she usually was but didn't find her. Yuna _was_ pretty, but she never showed it. He wondered why. He also wondered why she was so high-strung, so quiet, so reserved. He'd thought to ask, but he doubted that she would tell him. He left the classroom, saying that he had to go to the bathroom but really just wandering the halls. He went to a hallway near the library, and stopped in his tracks when he saw Seymour, talking with Yuna and steadily backing her against the wall. He backed up behind a corner and listened in, but from the distance he could only hear the oiliness that was Seymour's voice and the soft hum that was Yuna's.

          He watched intently. Even from here, he knew that something was up and that Yuna was terrified. There were no classrooms closeby and no one from the library was watching. He whispered something to her, and skulked off. Yuna's face was pale, as if something monumentally frightening had happened. Tidus made sure the coast was clear before he made his way over to her.

          "Hey," he whispered, reaching out carefully and putting his hand on her bare shoulder. She was sweaty and trembling. She looked kind of like she would… "Are you okay?"

          She shook her head.

          "You gonna be sick?"

          She nodded.

          He looked around. No one was there, so he took a chance. "Okay, hold your horses, and come with me." He kept his arm around her and slipped into the girls bathroom where the hurled breakfast into the toilet. When she was done rinsing out her mouth and cleaning her face with cold water, she turned to him; he was still watching her.

          "Thank you," she whispered. "Why are you being so nice to me? And… which bathroom are we in?" She wanted to know which of them was going to get into trouble.

          "Girls bathroom. Don't tell anyone, okay?" He smiled. Yuna nodded and looked down into the sink. She had to avoid his gaze because he kept making her heart speed up.

          "What was he doing? Seymour, I mean," Tidus asked after a moment. He had to know. A few weeks ago, he had been walking to get his books out of Seymours classroom and Yuna had run from the room in a blind panic and bowled him over from running. At his question, though, Yuna held her breath. Finally, she spoke.

          "I—I can't tell you now. But… I…" she paused. She swore to Lulu she'd tell someone about Seymour and his plans. After she told Lulu of his "offer" to her, her friend had nearly throttled her and made her swear on her mother's grave that she would get help before the semester was up. She had no choice but to agree. And now Tidus was being nice to her… 

          "Yuna?" He rattled her gently. "Can we at least get out of the girls bathroom?" He asked meekly. "I don't wanna get caught in here."

          "I'm staying after school today to help Miss Amí with the ceramics projects. She leaves me alone so stay with me, okay?" It was the longest sentence she had ever spoken to him. She waited for his answer, and he nodded in agreement, not taking his eyes off of her. She nodded quickly back, then checked to make sure no one was watching. "Go on," she whispered.

          He slipped out of the bathroom and hoped to high heaven that there were no security cameras like there were at his Zanarkand high school. Yuna went in the opposite direction that he did, back to the library. She turned briefly, saying softly, "That was a nice thing you did… thank you."

          People walked around in costumes all day. The cafeteria was full of people wearing strange clothes, taking advantage of the holiday. Rikku sat at a table with Wakka while he kept looking over his shoulder at someone but Rikku couldn't place who he was looking for. Finally, she asked him.

          "Nothin'," he lied. "Just… ferget it, it's nothin'."

          "Sure doesn't seem like nothing," Rikku giggled.

          "Mind your own business, ya?" He snapped.

          "Don't bite my head off!"

          "Sorry, Rikku… I'm just… can you keep a secret?" He finally got to the point.

          "Yea," she leaned in.

          "I like dis girl, ya? But… I can't tell 'er. An' I've liked her forever."

          "Well, why can't you tell her?" Rikku asked, perplexed.

          "She don't like me, ya know?"

          _"What?"_ She asked. "Wakka, you're such a sweetheart! You're nice, and sweet, and funny, and sm—well, not too smart, but you're an awesome guy… what woman would _possibly_ not want you in her life?" She asked, throwing her hands up and making her bracelets click. Wakka looked back over his shoulder, watching someone get closer and closer. Rikku looked, too.

           _"Ne pas dévisigar à moi, Le Carotte!"_ A familiar voice said. Wakka looked hopelessly after the source, and Rikku followed his gaze. When she realized who it was, her mouth fell open.

          "That woman," Wakka answered her question, putting his face in his hands. Rikku gaped.

          _"Lulu?"_ She asked. "You got a thing for _Lulu?"_ She grinned suddenly. "That's so _cuuuute!"_ She carried the syllable. "Wow… but… what makes you think she doesn't like you? I mean… it's impossible to tell with her so she _might_ be harboring years and _years _of pent-up sexual tension from lusting after you."

          Wakka hunched over. "Stop sayin' stuff like dat!" He whispered harshly, his face turning the same color as his hair.

          "You say you've liked her forever?"

          "Ya."

          "So why don't you at least ask her out? Why're you so sure she'd say no?" She planted her hands on her hips and frowned at him.

          "Because she wouldn't _never_ go out wit me. Besides dat, she's a witch. She's not even Catholic."

          Rikku hit him on the side of the head. "Cdibef!" She yelled in Al Bhed. She slapped her hands over her mouth, hoping he didn't hear or understand what she had said.

          "Did you juss say somethin' in Al Bhed?" He asked skeptically.

          "Just know a few words, really," she lied. "I just said, 'stupid.'"

          "Oh… why'd you call me stupid then?" He asked.

          "Those are the dumbest reasons I've ever heard for not wanting to ask someone out! Or at least _talk_ to her! Geez, you Yevonite Catholics are really something!" She got up, dumped her tray, and stormed off. She left Wakka sitting at his table, confused about Lulu and also confused about the origin of his perky blonde friend.

          "What was Carrots talking about?" Lulu asked when Rikku sat down with her.

          "Nothing. Yevonite drone… what a schmuck! He won't talk to y—someone he really likes just because she's not Catholic!" She grabbed some of Lulu's chocolates and shoved them into her mouth.

          "The Catholics are like that," Lulu explained. "Most of them won't even _consider_ someone a person if they aren't strict Catholic and Wakka is one of them."

          "How'd you know I was talking about Wakka?" Rikku asked slyly. Lulu shrugged keeping her mouth closed tightly. Rikku grinned.

          Tidus watched the clock in his math class. The hands were moving extremely slowly—just for him. He wanted the bell to ring so that he could get _out_ of this boring class and go meet up with Yuna. He was anxious to see her, see what he could learn about her from actually _talking_ to her. It was strange. He had heard so many rumors about her from Wakka and from the members of the blitzball team (which he still had to try out for), and they were totally outrageous. They said she was a witch. They said she kept knives hidden under her clothes. They said she had killed her own parents in Bevelle when she was just a little kid, and then commanded that a Ronso bring her to Besaid to cover up her crimes. They said so many strange things about her and he didn't believe any of them.

          The bell rang and he quickly ran from the room and into the art room where he was met by a blast of heat from the three now-opened kilns. Someone in jeans, a t-shirt, and an apron was leaning over one of them. He wondered where Yuna was, so he asked.

          "Excuse me… Where's Yuna? She… wanted me to meet her here."

          "I _am_ Yuna," the bent figure turned around, revealing that it was in fact Yuna, wearing a pair of huge, thick gloves and carrying a glazed blue-and-black pot from the kiln. When he raised an eyebrow at her change of clothes, she put the pot down and put her hands on her hips, saying, "Well, you didn't expect me to work in here in that dress, did you?"

          He watched her for a few minutes until the kiln was unloaded and she walked over to a huge white garbage can with the words, "THE SWAMP" written on it in big permanent ink letters. It contained a literal swamp of wet, gray clay that had obviously been recycled. Yuna slipped on a pair of latex gloves and fearlessly, without hesitation dug her hands into the wet mess and put it on a plaster-covered table and began kneading it as if it were bread.

          "Well, don't just _stand_ there," she said irritably. "Make yourself useful and help me wedge this stuff."

          "Huh?"

          "Get some gloves and start getting your hands dirty!" She commanded.

          "Yes, ma'am."

          They worked in silence for a while, the only sounds coming from the clay sticking to the plaster.

          "Where'd you come from, anyway?" Yuna asked.

          "Zanarkand… Auron got canned and we hadda move."

          "Who's Auron?" She asked.

          "My guardian. He and my dad were best buds, so when my dad died he left me in his charge."

          Yuna nodded. "My parents are gone, too," she whispered. She smooshed her hand into the clay, deep in thought. She barely remembered her parents at all—she was so _little_ when they were killed. She had lived here for the last twelve years.

          "Really?" He lowered his head, at loss for words. "That… sucks."

          Yuna nodded. After a while, there was a decent pile of wedged clay on the corner of the table and they took their gloves off and washed up. He watched her while she covered up the clay. He leaned back and began to stumble so he put his hand out to catch himself, burning himself severely on the open, still-cooling kiln. He yelled in pain and clutched the bruising hand. Yuna stumbled across the room to see what had happened.

          "I should have warned you about that," she said, taking his hand by the wrist and trying to inspect the burn, but he kept his hand curled into a fist. "Come on, open your hand," she said. "Open up."

          "It _hurts!"_ Tidus whimpered, amazed at her grip. "It may not _look_ bad but it's killing me!"

          "You know for a blitzball player, you're a pansy," she told him, successfully prying his hand open. She slowly inspected his hand and frowned. "Looks pretty bad. Second degree. See how the skin is blistering?" She touched it softly and grabbed his wrist harder when he tried to pull away.

          "Ow! Hey, knock it off!"

          Cautiously, Yuna looked around to make sure no one was watching her. Then the gently put her hand over the burn and the wounded area was surrounded by an aura of pink light. When the light died down, the pain and the blisters went with it until they were gone completely.

          "Hey… that's awesome! Where'd you learn to do that?" He asked, inspecting his hand for any sign of the injury.

          "I'm a WhiteMage. You may have heard that I'm a witch, and it's kinda true. I just don't cast curses and spells and things on people."

          "There's a lot of stories about you… no one really knows much about you. Why is that?" He asked.

          "Because… I don't like getting to know people. I'm—" she paused. Should she tell? She didn't know if she should tell Tidus, but she figured that she could trust him, although she didn't know _why_ she felt this way. "I'm afraid," she said quietly, looking down.

          "Why?" He inched closer, then draping his arm over her shoulder. She didn't pull away or shy or slap him like Rikku warned him that she would.

          "Because… I need to tell you something. I need help with this, but you have to promise not to tell _anyone_ about it. Not yet. I have to keep things under wraps for a while."

          "What is it?"

          "Seymour Guado has been stalking me for the last three years. But Kimahri Ronso was my guardian, and no one _dared to stalk a Ronso's charge. But now Kimahri is back at Gagazet, and I'm fair game. He's… he found out that Rikku is Al Bhed. She's my cousin, so that makes me a—a _halfblood,"_ she spat out the hated word but it made her choke. "He's blackmailing me. If anyone finds out, we could be attacked or even lynched." She bit back her tears. "He wants me to drop out and move in with him!" At this, she snapped and sobbed into her hands, leaving Tidus at a loss for words. Instead he stayed silent and tightened his grip around her shoulders._

                                                                                                         ~*~

Wow! This was a long chapter! But I promised you that it would be up by Tuesday or Wednesday, and here it is! Anyway, I'm gonna try to have the next chapter up within a week, so keep watching for it. As for the languages spoken… Yuna strikes me as the type who would speak several languages, and Lulu is just… well, _look at her! She even _looks_ like she should be French! So I made her speak French. I wish to thank JaguarKItty2006 for giving me the French I need… you rock, Kitty! Please review—after all, they encourage chapters…_

STILL TO COME:

Tidus becomes attached to Yuna, and Wakka to Lulu. Lulu tries to get Yuna to stand up to Seymour, and Rikku tries to get her to spend more time with Tidus. Tidus, meanwhile, has rewired that school's PA system and can now make announcements whenever he wants by way of his cell phone. And what will they do about Seymour, now that they have another person on their side? Easy… they're gonna make his life a living hell…   


	6. Daydream Believer

Ugh… I hate staring at a blank page! It makes me feet like I have so much to do. But oh well. I'm in a good mood because I survived my first final and because I have all weekend plus Monday to study for my next two, so screw today! It goes to FanFiction! ^_~ Background info for things to come: Tidus and Wakka _both_ strike me as the guy who would assail his dignity and screw his own honor and outright_ humiliate_ himself for his girl. So they will. And often, too. ^_~

For goodness sake—_I DON'T OWN FINAL FANTASY X! LEAVE ME ALOOOOOONE!_

                                                                                                             ~*~

Chapter 5:

Daydream Believer

_"Attention teachers and students,"_ a voice came over the PA system but it was different from the one that usually made announcements. The students recognized it and listened closely because for the last few weeks, since just after Halloween, someone had been making prank-y announcements and making everyone laugh. The voice spoke again. _"We regret to announce that, due to circumstances beyond our control, lunch… will be served today."_

          Laughter erupted in the classrooms and a few teachers went along with it. In a cold, dark janitors closet in a far-off corner of the school, Tidus switched off his cell phone and put it back into his pocket.

          "I love me," he murmured. Ever since he figured how to rewire the PA system to accept the frequency from his phone and a six-digit code that only _he_ knew, he had been having a considerable amount of fun with it. Random times during the day, he would go off and make some kind of announcement just to spice up the day. One time he said that anyone taking the "Health Education" class would be showing a sex film. After hearing the cheers, he added that it was a STD film. He loved that stunt.

          He wandered back to his classroom and passed Yuna on the way. She smiled and nodded politely at him, but said nothing. She was still so shy and quiet, and he wondered for a while if she regretted associating with him but Rikku assured him that her cousin was a freak and she would act this way around her own family, meaning herself. Tidus found himself thinking then that _he_ would probably avoid Rikku, too, if he was related to her.

          It was third period, and the bell rang to start class; students herded into Seymour's room and took their seats. Tidus had migrated over the course of the last few weeks and managed to get himself near Yuna. Now he pretty much saw and heard everything that Seymour did or said to her. Now that he knew of the man's intentions for her, it was blatantly obvious. Perhaps not _blatantly_ obvious, but the way he looked at her, the way he spoke, the fact that he rarely gave the girl her personal space—all of them gave him away. He was surprised that no one else had figured it out. Then again, _he_ hadn't known, either, so he let it slide with everyone else.

          He watched Yuna, who was seated in front of him. She had her head down and was alternating drawing in a sketchbook and writing notes on what Seymour was saying. Tidus was alternating between doodling on his notes and writing nasty things on the desk. Without thinking, he wrote Yuna's name in funny-looking block letters letters that he had colored in to make them look different. He craned his neck to see what Yuna was drawing, but she had put the book beneath her chair to hide it from Seymour, who was headed their way. She kept her head down; Tidus watched out of the corner of his eye.

          "Miss Bamarre," Seymour said, putting his hands on Yuna's paper and leaning very close to her. Yuna swallowed.

          "…" She opened her mouth, as if to say something but no words came out. She looked up at him, eyes wide.

          "May I ask what you were doing with _this?"_ He reached underneath the chair and pulled out the sketchbook, waving it in front of Yuna's face. She didn't really look up at it, but her cheeks were flushing. Seymour smiled to himself. "If I catch you drawing in class again, it'll be a detention for y—"

          "'Scuze me," Tidus stood up and managed to wedge himself between Yuna and Seymour. Seymour looked annoyed, and Yuna grateful but also puzzled. What was he up to? Was he playing "hero"?

          "What do you _want?" _Seymour growled.

          "Can I have my book back?" He reached for Yuna's sketchbook. Seymour's face fell slightly. He was obviously looking for a reason to keep Yuna in his classroom alone with him.

          "This is yours?" Seymour asked, meaning the sketchbook. He looked at the drawing, then at Yuna, then at Tidus.

          "Yea…"

          Purple eyes narrowed and he pushed the book into Tidus' chest a little too hard, as it made a very audible "thud" against it.

          "Don't let me see it again," he warned, and walked back to the front of the class. Tidus sat down, putting the book beneath his notes. He kept looking at it throughout the class, wanting very badly to look through it but knowing that looking through someone's sketchbook was just as bad as looking through their diary. Still… curiosity got the better of him and he decided that it would be all right if he just looked at the one drawing that she had been working on. He moved his papers slowly and glanced at the picture, nearly dropping his mouth open. The picture featured a girl with wings, sitting on what appeared to be a very large tree branch. One leg hung down and the other was drawn up to her chest. She looked like she was staring off into space, and in the upper left-hand corner of the picture was written, "Just because she does not flap her wings all the time doesn't mean she cannot fly." He found part of his situation funny, because Seymour probably thought he was a fruitcake. Nonetheless, Yuna was quite an artist.

          Something tapped his knee, and he looked down and to the left. Yuna had her left hand dropped to her side with a piece of paper between her fingers. Tidus took it, and she brought her hand back to her own desk. He opened the note and read it.

          _Thank you, Tidus… Now I owe you two—for this and for the girls' bathroom escort._

          Tidus smiled to himself and wrote back in his own scrawl: _Don't mention it. Besides, I don't need you getting sick again. I can't ALWAYS follow you into the girls bathroom! As appealing as that sounds…_

          He passed the note back to her. He couldn't see her face to gauge her reaction to his little joke. He heard a suppressed giggle, so he figured she was okay with it.

          Because neither wanted to get into trouble with Seymour, Tidus kept her book until they were out of sight of the classroom. When he was sure that the teacher could no longer see them, he pulled Yuna over in the halls and gave her the sketchbook.

          "Be careful next time, okay?" He told her. "That guy'll look for _any_ excuse to keep you after school."

          "I know," she whispered. She looked up at him briefly and then looked down at her untied sneakers, but not before he noticed the color in her cheeks.

          "So, Homecoming game is next week," he said, referring to the yearly blitzball game that took place around this time, so called because that was when all the university students came home to watch their old schools play. "You gonna come?" He hoped she would; after all, he was playing.

          "No," she said, just as quietly as before. "We lose the homecoming game every year."

          "Yea, but this year you've got a damn good blitzball ace on your team!" He said, shamelessly promoting himself with a cocky look. Yuna couldn't help but smile. He was boyish, and she found herself attracted to it.

          "I'll hear about it the Monday after. It's all everyone ever talks about for days afterward," she told him. She knew he was trying to get her to go, but she couldn't sit through a blitzball game. Especially not a school one, because people would gang up on her and play nasty tricks.

          "Well, then…" he paused, trying to get the right words. "What about… what about the Homecoming dance?" He asked. Yuna stopped shuffling her feet on the floor and looked up at him.

          "What _about _it?" She asked suspiciously. Was this a joke?

          "Are you going?" He felt nervous and he didn't know why. He'd asked tons of girls out before. Maybe he was nervous because all of _those_ girls would fall all over themselves just to hold his jersey. Yuna would probably reject him. Ah well.

          "No… I've never gone to one before, either."

          "Well… would you go with me?" He asked quickly.

          "I beg your pardon?" She asked.

          "Come to Homecoming with me?" He asked again.

          There was a very long pause; Tidus began to feel stupid when he looked towards her again, and was surprised to see her smiling slightly.

          "All right," she whispered.

Yuna wrestled a stick from Ursa while Rikku read out loud a pamphlet that she had gotten in class about Homecoming. Lulu sat nearby, stitching up a hole in her Cait Sith doll. It seemed Ursa liked the taste of enchanted dolls. The Cait Sith sat patiently in the folds of the black dress, glaring murderously at Ursa.

          "Lulu, make sure your doll doesn't go casting hexes on my dog," Yuna said, throwing the stick. Ursa turned and chased after it, barking her deep, loud bark.

          "It'll only do what I tell it to do," Lulu assured her. "I've told you that before."

          "Well, if you're _sure—"_

          "Oh my God! Yunie! Lulu! Look!" She shoved the pamphlet in front of Yuna's face and she couldn't read it. "Read it! Read it! Read it!" She commanded.

          "Rikku back up! I can't breathe let alone read this stupid thing!" Yuna shoved her off. She took the pamphlet and read it through, looking puzzled. "What am I looking for, exactly?"

          "The Machine Faction is playing! Your school is getting the _Machine Faction_ to play at the Homecoming dance!" The blonde put both of her hands over her breastbone and sighed, falling to the cold ground. "It's destiny!" 

          _"What _is?" Yuna asked.

          "Yunie? Have you ever paid any attention to the many posters I have hanging up in my room?" Rikku lifted her head to look her cousin in the face.

          "Not really."

          "They're my _favorite_ band. And the lead singer and guitarist… Gippal… oh my _God_ he is dead sexy."

          "So you think that just because he's coming to play at your high school's Homecoming dance that you are destined to marry and live happily ever after?" Lulu suggested, face deadpan. Her eyes glimmered with mirth, however, at her own comment. Rikku crossed her arms and stuck out her lower lip in a pout.

          "No! Just… maybe a chance for a one-night stand."

          "You could never do that, Rikku," Yuna said. "You get attached too easily. He'd have to get a restraining order on you!"

          Rikku sighed and stayed quiet for a few moments before saying, "Lets go to Homecoming. The three of us. Just the Witches Three, you know?"

          "Pass," Lulu immediately said. She waited for Yuna to make some kind of a sarcastic comment about it, but nothing came. She glanced at her friend, confused. She was drawing in her sketchbook.

          "Yunie?" The blonde asked.

          "Yea?"

          "What about you?"

          "Huh?"

          "Come to Homecoming!"

          Yuna sighed. She hadn't told them yet that Tidus had asked her to go—and that she had accepted his invitation. "Tidus asked me to go with him." She finally said.

          "He _did?" _Lulu asked, actually seeming surprised. "When?"

          "Today."

          "Oh, Yunie! You have to tell him yes! You can't just blow him off, I mean, come on he's gorgeous and nice and sweet and—"

          "Rikku…"

          "He's like… the perfect guy for you, Yunie!"

          "Rikku, what the hell do you think I told him?"

          "You said no, didn't you?" Rikku said.

          "No. I said I'd go with him."

          "You _did?"_ Both Rikku and Lulu said at the same time. Yuna grinned and nodded. Her cousin hugged her tightly.

          "Oh, Yuna! That's so great!" She bounced a little and began to get lost in her own little fantasies. "We can wear long flowy gowns and trim our hair with flowers, and we'll dance all night and then you and Tidus can kiss under the stars and Gippal and I can…" she was off. There was no bringing her back, now.

          "Are you serious, Yuna?" Lulu asked. "I don't mean to inject a not of pessimism, but what of Seymour? Should he see you dressed up there's no telling what he'll do."

          Yuna thought of that, her face and excitement falling. Lulu had a point. Seymour never got to see her dressed up because she never really went any—

          "He won't be there," she replied, somewhat confident.

          "How are you so sure?"

          "Because I never leave home. What'll make him think that I'd go to Homecoming this year?"

          Lulu paused. Her friend had a point. _"Vas avec amour."_ ["Go with love."] She said with a smile playing across her lips.

          "So, Lulu, you comin'?" Rikku asked.

          "No."

          "Yea, you are," she snapped. "Come on, Lulu, you gotta come! It'll be so lonely without you and your nasty comments every few minutes! And what if Gippal is there? I'll need some moral support and Yuna's gonna be too busy goin' off with Tidus so… oh, c'mon, Lulu, it'll be _fun!" _She begged. "Please?"

          "No."

          "Yunie, help me out here!" Rikku said desperately.

          "Why?" Yuna asked. "She's not gonna bend to me any more than she'd bend to anyone else."

          "Please, Lulu? It'll be lonely without you! We _loooooooove_ you, Lulu!" She jumped up and hugged her friend around the waist so tightly that she squeaked.

          "You'd best agree with her soon," Yuna whispered to her childhood friend. "Before she hugs you any tighter. She won't hesitate to squeeze the tongue right out of your mouth."

          Lulu gasped and finally caved in. _"J'ai assistu! J'ai assistu!"_

          "Translation?" Rikku loosed her grip only slightly.

          "She said she'll go."

          "Ohh! Lulu, that's so great!" She let her friend go; Lulu gasped for breath.

          "You've got a better grip than I give you credit for," Lulu commented, inspecting her flesh for red imprints of Rikkus' arms.

          "We have to get dresses," Rikku said on a serious note.

          "All I _own_ are dresses, Rikku," Lulu said.

          "I mean a _nice_ dress, Lu," she snapped back. "The kind that _isn't_ chopped up the front and with belts all over it and fur lining."

          "Is there any other type?" She asked sarcastically, biting the string that sewed up the "wound" on her Cait Sith. "But I suppose I can find one if it'll make you feel better. I know of a secondhand store near here where I could find a dress."

          "A secondhand store?" Rikku asked, slightly disgusted. "You shop at secondhand stores?"

          "I have to, Rikku. I live alone, and my job doesn't pay much. I work as a veterinary assistant in an animal hospital. Not a glamorous or high-paying job, to say the least."

          "You'd be surprised what you can find at secondhand stores," Yuna put in. "I say it couldn't hurt to look around."

          "Someone's being unusually optimistic," Lulu said, point blank.

          "Does this have anything to do with a certain blonde blitzball player with blue eyes and a smile that could make your knees turn to pudding?" Rikku drawled.

          "Perhaps," Yuna told her, and went back to her sketchbook and her dog.

          The following day was a professional day, and because there was no school Rikku dragged them all out shopping for dresses when they would really have rather been in bed, sleeping. Since it was Rikku doing the dragging at first, the first place they hit was a big store, but being high-school students, they couldn't afford anything there. They saw the popular girls from school shopping here, though. They'd probably borrowed their Daddy's credit card. Yuna felt her chest twist from the inside. When they managed to pry Rikku away from the flashy displays, they went into one of the small stores at the edge of the small town. Nearby was the cathedral, where the Yevonite Catholics spent most of their Sundays. They slipped into one of the shops.

          The old woman who owned the shop knew what season it was: Homecoming Dress Season. She had all of the dresses within reach of whoever would want one. She nodded politely to Lulu as the three walked into the shop. After a painful inquisition, Rikku admitted that they were nice dresses. Not to mention affordable. The Al Bhed girl immediately began looking for a red dress. Rikku _loved_ red. Yuna looked through the most simple dresses she could find, and Lulu wanted something in black. She and Rikku got into an argument about it after not quite ten minutes.

          "You can't wear black forever, ya know!" Rikku protested, trying to sway her friend towards some rose-colored gowns. Lulu dodged her and went looking for a black one.

          _"J'aime vêtments noires,"_ she hissed. ["I like black clothes."]

          "I don't care what you just said, but why won't you try wearing something different for a change?" She planted her fists on her hips and pouted.

          "Rikku, leave her alone," Yuna called. She picked up a purple dress. She liked this one. It was long and laced up the back like Lulu's dresses, only without all of the buckles. There was black embroidery on the sleeves and on the bottom of the dress. It looked like the same person had made this dress as well as most of Lulu's favorites—the ones with the fur lining and the myriad of belts up the front. Yuna tried the dress on and found that it fit nicely, albeit left more of her bosom exposed than was appropriate for her taste.

          Lulu, sick of hearing Rikku's endless pestering about black dresses, picked up a red one. It was a dark, dark shade of red, like blood. Like most of her dresses, this one, too, had a corset-like lace, although this one laced up the front instead of the back. The sleeves were flounce-y and covered her hands completely when she put them down by her side.

          Rikku, on the other hand, had trouble with her own dress. She knew she wanted something short and sleeveless, although Yuna and Lulu had tried to explain that November in Besaid tended to be on the chilly side, especially after the sun set. After she _didn't_ listen, they decided that it might just be best that she catch pneumonia and figure it out for herself. Yuna cringed when she saw what her cousin had picked out: a little black spaghetti-strap affair with red trim. Lulu got angry when she saw that the blonde's choice was a black dress.

          "Are you upset that you couldn't find anything Velcro?" Lulu asked her.

          "Why?" Rikku asked, puzzled.

          "Velcro is the only thing that a lust-crazed male in a dark room can open. Besides maybe the zipper on his own trousers," she replied. Rikku turned pink. "It's the truth," Lulu said absently.

Tidus sat in the locker room after the Homecoming blitzball game. They'd won the game—the final score was 6 to 4. the rest of the team had gone out to celebrate, but he hadn't been invited. Even Wakka blew him off. He sat dripping on a bench, the puddle beneath him getting bigger and bigger. He'd called Auron earlier to say that he'd be going straight home. Auron was a control freak. He had to know where Tidus was constantly.

          Once he figured that he had decently dried out and drenched the floor, he got up, took his keys and his bag, and went out into the parking lot. As he walked towards his car, he passed three members of the blitzball team either on the grass or in the backseat of their cars. He shook his head. His own car was parked at the edge of the lot. It was a little foreign affair—Volkswagen Beetle. "The bug car," as one of his friends in Zanarkand called it. It was bright blue although now it was a bit dusty and needed a cleaning. People thought that Beetles were total chick cars, but he didn't care. He liked his, for reasons unknown even to himself. He sat down and made a squelching noise on the vinyl seat—he hadn't dried as well as he thought he did—and drove off.

          Auron was waiting up for him when he got back. He was sitting in the living room with a cup of what appeared to be that morning's coffee in one hand and a news paper in the other. One of their two cats, Gadget, sat in his lap, asleep.

          "You're late," he said without looking up from his paper.

          "I know. I drip-dried in the locker-room. I'm sorry," he replied. He felt a bit uneasy, even though his jitters about asking Yuna to Homecoming were over. Maybe he was just nervous because of what might happen at the dance. After all… not many people thought Yuna was even _human,_ let alone a good date. He threw it out of his mind as best as he could.

          "Something troubling you?" Auron asked over the paper. Tidus stopped in his tracks. Damn him.

          "No," he lied.

          "Nothing at all? No girl problems?"

          He damned his guardian again and dropped his duffel bag on the floor. The other cat, Ace, a bobtailed tabby, wandered back and forth at his feet; he picked him up. "Maybe some," he admitted.

          "I never thought I would live to see the day when the legendary son of Jecht Reina, Chick Magnet of Zanarkand High, would have girl problems," Auron said. He had made a joke, even though his voice was flat and he didn't crack a smile. He looked up at Tidus with his one good eye. "Need to talk about it?"

          "Not unless you can make everyone at the school tolerate her."

          "I thought you only dated cheerleaders. She a reject cheerleader? Or is it that she's so amazing that everyone hates her for it?"

          "No, I… never really thought of it that way…" he thought of what Auron had said. He knew full well that nobody was envious of Yuna although he thought that they_ should_ be. "But no, that's not it. She's… well, she's worried about something. And it gets to her so badly that she never even leaves her house except to go to school, which makes no sense to me because _that's_ where the problem is."

          "I see. Do you know exactly what it is?"

          "Yes."

          "What?"

          "I'm not supposed to say."

          "Suit yourself." Auron went back to his newspaper.

          Tidus put the cat down and picked up his duffel. He paused a moment, then finally turned around and said quietly, "Someone's stalking her and she's afraid to let anyone know. She thinks that they'll all take his word over hers." He looked to see Auron's reaction and was pleased to note that it's had at least made him put his paper down.

          "That so?" He asked. "What do you propose to do about it?"

          "I wanna help her, I just dunno how."

          "I suggest you catch him in the act. Play dumb. Pretend you don't know. When the time it right, you can catch him."

          That made sense. Simple plan. Effective. He was surprised that his own simple mind hadn't thought of it. Then again, his plans rarely worked, anyway.

          "What do you propose I do until then?"

          "Until he lets his pants down?" Auron put the paper back up in front of his face. "Make his life a living hell. Drive him to extremes. And for God's sake, boy, don't get yourself killed!"

          Typical Auron: good advice, lousy follow-up.

          Ace followed Tidus to his room and jumped onto his windowsill.

          "If only I could train you to find Seymour's house and scratch the bastards nuts off," he said to his cat. Inquisitive green eyes looked back at him and he smiled. "Yea… that'd be the day. Cats can't be trained to do anything… they do what they want to _when_ they want to." He sighed as the cat rolled over onto his back and mewed at him. Tidus unlaced one of his shoed and dangled the lace in front of his face. It was a good thing that no one from the team or from school in general knew that he still played with a cat like this. They would never let him live it down. Absently he found himself wondering what Yuna kept as a pet. He snickered to himself, thinking of what sort of rumors would circulate if he asked. On his own he came up with a list of creatures that people would suspect she had in her house. Fiends. A miniature genetically engineered version of the mythical monster called Sin. Lions. Venomous snakes. Spiders the size of small cars. Male whores wearing animals skins.

          At that last thought, he let out a bark of laughter. Now that he had gotten to know Yuna somewhat, he figured that she really kept dogs, cats, birds—anything that everyone else didn't want.

          Yuna… she was so _different_ from everyone else he had ever met. He never met a girl who would willingly work up to her elbows in brown clay, or admit to being related to an Al Bhed, or not even care about her own popularity. She admitted being a WhiteMage, but didn't spread around the fact that she was, in fact, a witch. She only admitted it to him because it came up in conversation.

          Yuna Bamarre. School reject, artist, sculptor, witch, mysterious unknown girl, stalker victim, all-around good girl. 

          He couldn't help it. He was starting to fall for her.

                                                                                                             ~*~

Whee! I have to apologize for not posting this _yesterday_ when it was _finished._ My internet has been down, so I haven't been able to post or read fanfiction since Thursday. But I'm back, and to make it up to you, I've posted an extra-long chapter. I was _going_ to include Homecoming in this chapter, but I didn't because that would've made it _way_ long. Next chapter will be Homecoming. A little pre-fluff in that chapter but since Yuna's still skittish, there won't be much smooching. If any. Please review and let me know how I'm doing!

By the by: I grandfathered Gippal into the story. (That means I worked him into it.) I started writing this before I knew of him, so he originally wasn't even in the story to begin with, but I figured that "The Machine Faction" sounded like a punkish band and that Gippal can be the lead singer. Ta-daa! There you have it! So there could be a bit 'o Rikku+Gippal stuff in here! Oh, and the chapter title, Daydream Believer, is from a song by the Monkeys by the same name. Next chapter might be titled by the next line in the song: Homecoming Queen. (No, Yuna will _not_ be the Homecoming Queen.)

STILL TO COME:

Wakka asks Lulu to the Homecoming dance in a slightly unorthodox way. The dance itself is quite an affair, too. Rikku gets in good with the Machine Faction, Lulu seems to have a softer side for redheads, and Tidus decides to "take action" with Seymour.                 


	7. CinderYuna

Sheez, do you really want me to stop with the "Still To Come" things? Or else you can ignore them. But then again, you know what'll happen (sorta… I don't tell _all…) _but you don't know _how_ it's gonna happen. Or when. Heheheee…

Okay, here's the next chapter. I'm sitting here in front of a computer after my two-hour chem exam, eating peanuts. (Dammit, they're addictive and we're almost out!) Enjoy the chapter, luvs. (Damn you Leblanc! I've been saying that longer than you have! That and "babe.")

I own the peanuts in front of me, a collection of ponies, a car (which I don't drive), my clothes, my school stuff, and my ps2. Everything that is used here, however, belongs to Square. Damn them.

                                                                                                             ~*~

Chapter 6

Cinder-Yuna

"So Yunie's got a date," Rikku kept saying, over and over again. "You have a date. And I don't. A hot guy asked _you_ to the Homecoming dance, and no one asked me. Rumo cred, this sounds like a subject for an Alfred Hitchcock movie."

          "Thanks a lot," Yuna rolled her eyes, and was beginning to wonder if anyone else in the lunchroom knew what they were talking about. She shrugged, concentrating once again on her sketchbook. She was trying to draw people as cartoons, now, just to see if she could. She had seen this cute, exaggerated style of drawing in comics before but had never given any thought to trying it. It was keeping her busy, at least. She found herself jittery and fluttery lately and she didn't know whether she liked it or not, but she _did_ know that Tidus had caused it.

          "She does have a legitimate point, though," Lulu put in, setting her gray bag on the floor next to her. The Moogle inside was jolted awake, but Lulu took no notice. "You rarely go anywhere, you do your best _not_ to be seen or noticed, you hide or look away when someone addresses you, and yet you were noticed _and_ asked out by the one guy that has three girls leaning over his back."

          "What? Where?" Yuna looked around, wanting to see what Lulu meant.

          "I was kidding. But you seem… interested in him. I though you were only doing this to be nice." A smile crept across her lips. Yuna scowled.

          "That was a dirty trick." She sighed and glanced over in Tidus' direction, sighing slightly.

          "He's a good catch, you know," the mage pointed out.

          "If even Lulu admits it, you _know_ he's a keeper!" Rikku giggled, enjoying her moment of glory over Lulu. Instead, she just tossed her head, making her long black braids and their glass beads clink.

          "I suppose it's true. Then again, he could turn a straight man gay."

          "Lulu!" Yuna's mouth popped open.

          "Think he ever actually _has?" _Rikku asked, point-blank. "Seems like he might've…"

          Lulu shook her head and reached for her bag, lifting it up and noticing how light it was. Then she panicked when she saw a flash of little purple wings out of the corner of her eye. Her Moogle had escaped and was headed right towards the table where the Blitzball team was sitting.

          "Oh, no…" her eyes were wide and she felt helpless. The little creature was quick on its' feet and would be at the jock table within a minute or two, and Lulu was nowhere near quick enough to get it from where she was. She figured that she'd have to let fate run its' course and let the Moogle get what it wanted. To her dismay, however, she realized that her doll was headed right for _Le Carrotte—_Wakka.

          "Lu, what's wrong?" Yuna asked. She looked where her friend was looking, and she, too, winced.

          "What? What's new, pussycat?" She leaned so far over the table that she was standing on the bench.

          "Lulu's Moogle," Yuna pointed. "It got out. And Moogles _love_ colorful things."

          "I guess I should tell Wakka to watch his head, huh?" Rikku said jokingly. She took a deep breath to yell, "Heads up!" but Yuna clamped her hand over her cousins' mouth.

          "No!" She whispered harshly, digging her fingers into her flesh. "You can't! Only BlackMages use dolls like that, and if he knows what's coming after him he'll have a hell of a heart attack. A real doozy."

          "Anuvver one uv dos Cafflik tings?" Rikku asked after she managed to pry Yunas' hand halfway off of her mouth but her speech was still slurred.

          "Yes. Just wait. My Moogle likes me so it'll come back but not before he gets a chunk of that hair…" Lulu winced as the Moogle got really close to Wakka and stopped, wondering how it would climb this monstrous thing. A girl leaned back and saw the Moogle, and reached to pick it up, thinking it was a purse or a backpack in the shape of a teddy bear.

          "Whose bag is this?" She asked. It saw a handful of sharp acrylic nails headed its' way, and squealed, batting at her hand and charging under the table. The girl screamed and stood up, knocking into someone who was walking behind her with a tray. The tray, its' contents, and both people fell onto the floor in a heap.

          The Moogle saw its' window of opportunity and ran under the length of the table, tripping over everyone's feet and legs as it went. It got out from under the table by sneaking underneath a girl in a short skirt. The girls' eyes widened and she slapped the guy sitting next to her, thinking she had just been groped. The Moogle took no notice of the chaos and chaos it was creating and made a beeline for Wakka again, determined to grab some of his hair.

          Someone finally looked at the floor and saw the little creature running around, yelling out that there was a possessed toy running about. This stirred everyone up more, and a few brave guys decided that they would try to catch it. Yuna, Lulu, and Rikku sat back with a bag of popcorn, watching the mayhem created by one little enchanted doll.

          For a blitzball team, they seemed horribly uncoordinated. Guys ran into and over one another in an attempt to tackle the Moogle, only to have it run a random turn and instead they would smash into some poor sap on the floor. Wakka moved away, not wanting anything to do with the so-called "possessed toy" but he wasn't watching what was going on, either. He didn't realize that it was headed—

          "Hey, Wakka! Look out!"

          Wakka turned and was immediately attacked by the Moogle. At this point, Lulu was tired of watching her doll create mass panic in the school cafeteria. And she _knew_ what kind of damage her dolls could do, as well. She got up and called silently to the Moogle for it to come to her, but it was too busy with Wakka's hair to want to pay any attention. Wakka himself was the one who finally detached the Moogle. He held it out in front of him by the wings while it flailed and tossed. A few people stayed to look at it, but eventually it played dead, and everyone except for Wakka lost interest in it.

          Lulu cautiously walked over and beckoned her doll once again. It sprang to life in Wakka's hand and jumped to the floor, running to her. She knelt and picked it up, cradling it in her arms and scolding it quietly. She looked up to see Wakka, looking a bit tousled but no worse for the wear. Even so, she decided that she would go and make sure he was okay.

          "Are you all right?" She asked, keeping a firm grip on the Moogle, lest it decide that it wanted his hair again. "I… I'm sorry. It's my fault it got out."

          Wakka looked at her, blinking cautiously. Was Lulu talking _civilly_ to him? He furrowed his brow and ran a hand through his hair. "Ya… but… what _was_ that?"

          "A doll."

          "A doll attacked my head?" He asked, puzzled.

          "It liked bright colors and your hair is bright orange," she explained. "Are you sure you're all right?"

          "As long as it doesn't attack me again—" he began, but the Moogle chose this moment to jump at him. Luckily, he caught it and held onto it so it couldn't crawl up to his hair again.

          "Damned Moogle…" Lulu growled. "I'll take it back now," she offered. He handed it to her. "I really am sorry."

          Wakka suddenly though of something. "Well… you could make it up to me," he said. Garnet eyes narrowed as she stared at him.

          "I _beg_ your pardon?"

          "Will you come with me to Homecoming?" He asked again, more confidently this time. 

          "I'll think about it," she replied, beginning to turn away.

          "Hey, dat's not an answer, ya!"

          "Well, then…" she paused, looking for a way to answer without giving a definite _answer._ "How about this, then: if I agree, look for me outside the school. I'll be wearing a gold sash."

          "I guess dat's better than nothin'," Wakka murmured, watching Lulu walk away.

The evening of Homecoming rolled around a little too soon for both Yuna and Lulu. Yuna had managed to convince her friend that she should go to Homecoming with Wakka. The poor boy was probably _desperate_ if he had asked an assumed witch to the dance. Lulu agreed somewhat reluctantly, and all three of them were crammed inside her little house to get ready.

          "You know, I _still_ can't believe that Yunie's got a date and Lulu's got a date, but _I_ still don't have one!" Rikku complained, heading for her dress and beginning to strip her clothes off.

          "Rikku, do that in the bathroom, for goodness sake."

          "Oh, come on," she said. "It's not like we're any different! I've got nothing you guys haven't seen before!" She slipped her shirt off.

          "Rikku," Yuna growled. "Bathroom. Now." She pointed her cousin to the bathroom door. The blonde meekly obeyed, not wanting to peeve her cousin, especially when she was in such a good mood already. Even Rikku didn't want to kick this puppy.

          "You seem awfully excited, Yuna," Lulu observed, stepping behind the screen in her room and putting on her own dress. On top of everything, the tied a gold sash about her waist. It had small brass discs attached to it, so when she moved she sounded like bells chiming.

          "I can't help it. I've never been to a dance before. And I've never had a date before, either. It's two birds with one stone!" She exclaimed happily. She sighed and leaned back in her chair. A shelf full of magical mages' dolls watched her every move. "What're _you_ staring at?" She demanded. They looked away.

          "And you aren't worried about… You-Know-Who?" Lulu asked cautiously. She didn't want to alarm her friend _too_ badly and put her out of her jovial mood.

          "Nope!" She exclaimed. "He doesn't know I'll be there. If he wanted to find me, he'd go to my house, not the dance. Remember what I said? That I never go anywhere, so where would he get reasons enough to believe that I was going to the dance?"

          "Good point… still, I can never be sure…" she trailed off, looking at her shelf full of dolls. "I'm taking one." She said.

          "Taking one of what?" They heard Rikku bump about in the bathroom, gracelessly putting her dress on.

          "Careful in there, Rikku. Don't break anything," Lulu said sternly.

          "I won't!"

          "Lulu, don't bring a doll," Yuna said.

          "I want to. I never know when I may need it."

          "But nothing will be there."

          "I can never be sure. Besides, my dolls are like a security blanket—"

          "Which you _still_ have…" Yuna said jokingly.

          "Yuna, let me do what I do best. I'm a mage. I would feel better if I had my Moomba with me."

          "Why a Moomba?"

          "It holds still for long stretches of time," she said, beckoning the Moomba with her hand. It leaped across the room and into her arms. A quick re-adjustment of clothes found the Moomba safely clinging to the inside of her skirt.

          "Next!" Rikku walked out of the bathroom with her clothes under one arm, and her shoes in the other hand.

          "Rikku, how do you plan on walking in those things?" Yuna asked, referring to her cousins' high-heeled sandals.

          "You just don't have the talent!" Rikku said, tossing her head back. She let her hair stay down for the night, instead of the usual multitude of braids and the headband. Yuna picked up her own dress and headed for the bathroom to get dressed.

          "So," Rikku whispered to Lulu. "Any word on You-Know-Who?" It was amazing to know that the blonde Al Bhed girl _could_ whisper. She was usually very loud.

          "Yuna isn't worried, but I am," Lulu said quietly. "I don't want to ruin her mood, and she _does have a legitimate point about Seymour not thinking to look for her at a Homecoming dance, but something feels wrong. I can't explain it, but something feels like it might happen. I don't know what or when, though. I'm armed just in case."_

          "You brought—" Rikku started off yelling but quickly quieted herself. "You brought a _Moogle?"_

          "Moomba."

          "Same difference! What if it gets out? And attacks your date?" The blonde sounded uncharacteristically sensible.

          "Moomba sits still for a long time. It won't make a move until I tell it to."

          "Lulu…" Yuna's distressed call came from inside the bathroom. "I need a hand…"

          Lulu got up and went to see what the problem was. It turned out that the "problem" was that Yuna couldn't reach back to tie the corset laces. She wasn't used to wearing clothes like this, so Lulu tied it for her.

          "Lulu!" Yuna gasped. "It's tight!"

          "That would be the point, Yuna." She gave another tug at the laces and tied it in a good knot. "There… now take a look." She turned Yuna about so she could see herself reflected in the mirror.

          "Hey… wow…" she murmured. Rikku also came to have a look.

          "Yunie! Oh my God, you have a bust!"

          "I noticed," Yuna said dryly. The upper half of her dress, like Lulu's dresses, was a corset. And the purpose of the corset was…

          "So _that's how you do it, isn't it, Lulu?" Rikku said._

          "Do what?"

          "Don't play dumb. You're bigger than both of us," the blonde replied sharply.

          "Ouch, touché, Pypa," Yuna said, not tearing her gaze from the mirror.

          "Yunie, you need makeup," Rikku said. Yuna paled.

          "No, I don't," she replied.

          "Yes you do."

          "No."

          "Yes."

          "No!"

          "Oac!"

          "Rikku—" Yuna began, but her cousin pushed her into a chair and began putting makeup on a flinching Yuna.

          "Yunie, hold still," she commanded, tracing her cousins' eyes with a brown pencil. "Stop flinching."

          "Stop sticking that pencil in my eye!"

          "I'm not trying to. You're moving."

          Lulu watched the scene unfolding in front of her. She really thought that it was a shame that Yuna was so terrified to even _attempt_ to look nice because of Seymour. It was such a waste—Yuna really _was_ pretty when she wasn't up to her elbows in art supplies. Tidus would get to see her dressed up, though, even if it probably _would be just a one-shot affair, as Yuna called them._

          "Are we _done yet?" Yuna asked._

          "I guess so," Rikku sounded a little annoyed, but Lulu figured she should count her blessings—Yuna had stayed still long enough for her cousin to put basic cosmetics on her face. "Do you like it?" The blonde asked, gauging Yuna for any kind of reaction.

          Yuna wordlessly nodded. She hated to admit it, but under layers of clay, charcoal, and boyish-styled clothes, she was… _pretty._ "I _still_ think paints go better on a canvas, and not on faces," she said.

          "You're _welcome, Yunie," Rikku said irritably. "E muja oui, duu." Her voice was sarcastic. ("I love you, too.")_

          "So what's up for transportation?" Yuna finally asked.

          "Don't worry about it," Rikku chirped. "I've got it all covered."

          "With what?" Lulu asked skeptically.

          "I just bribed Brother into driving us. He's got a pretty nice car, even if he _did make it himself out of spare parts."_

          "You bribed Brother?" Yuna rolled her eyes. "I know I'll regret this, but what did you bribe him _with?"_

          "One of my bras… I said it was yours, though. I knew you would never go for it so I sacrificed some of my _own underwear. You owe me, cuz."_

          "You told him _what?" Yuna asked, appalled._

          "Chill, Yunie! Besides, you know just as much as I do that my brother gots a thing for you!"

          "That's disgusting," Lulu said. "And slightly incestuous."

          "Come on, guys, put some shoes on. It's time to go!" Rikku said with a laugh. She grabbed her bag and sped out the door, and Lulu and Yuna followed.

                                                                                                            ~*~

Ta-daa! I was gonna post the dance in this one, but I have this elaborate thing worked out, and, again, it woulda been _overkill._ Don't worry, though! I have a five-day weekend coming up and I can write my chapter then. Finals are over (today was the last day) and I'm just gonna let my brain relax. Peeze review!

Authors' request: I can admit when I can't do something and songwriting is one thing that I absolutely _cannot_ do. I need someone who _can write songs. If you are interested, email me at Glass_Dragoness@hotmail.com or else drop me a review and let me know that you're interested, because it's part of the story later on. Not really a __major bit, so if no one does it it's not deadly, but it'd be nice. So lemmie know if you're interested! Luv ya, babes!  _


	8. Homecoming Queen

Hi, guys. Well, this is it; the chapter you've all been waiting for. This is the Homecoming Dance chapter, and I hope it's everything you guys wanted! There won't be much smooching here, I'm afraid to inform you, and there will be a fairly racy scene with Rikku in the not-too-distant future, but nothing that would boost the story rating. Don't worry. Anyway, enough of my ramblings. I have blank pages staring evilly back at me and I must fill them with my story! Enjoy!

I own Final Fantasy, dammit. I keep them all under lock and key. They are my characters to use whenever I want. Leave me aloooooone.

                                                                                                             ~*~

Chapter 7

Homecoming Queen

"I don't know if I can do this," Yuna said, glancing out of the car window. The school was packed with students, both current and returning, teachers, chaperones, dates, and some people who probably just came for the food. It was too much for Yuna to handle, and to top it all off, she didn't know if she would be able to find Tidus in this mess anywhere.

          "Yes you can, Yuna," Lulu assured her. "If you want..." she paused, thinking of something with a far-off look in her eyes. "Yuna," she said seriously. "Remember when we were little, and we would pretend that you were a Summoner, off to battle the legendary monster Sin?"

          Yuna nodded. "I remember. Rikku used to play with us, too. We would go through the woods. That was my 'pilgrimage' and we would come back inside long enough to have lunch, and stay out until dark and Sin was defeated." A smile crossed her face. "I remember."

          "Do you remember what part I always played?" The mage asked, still serious.

          "You were always my guardian. You and Rikku and even when Kimahri played with us. You were my guardians."

          "That's right. I'm your guardian, and not just in play." Still in the darkness of the unlit parking lot, she hugged her friend. "I love you, Yuna, and I won't let anything happen to you. Our Summoner-games are over, but I will always be your guardian."

          Brother was sniggering in the front seat of the car, obviously liking the sight of girls hugging. Rikku put her hand through the open window and swatted him. "Pikkan uvv! Banfand!" ("Bugger off! Pervert!") As Brother meekly obeyed his sister's command, the Al Bhed girl wrinkled her nose. "Why do boys like watching girls hug or kiss?"

          "Rikku, do me a favor?" Lulu asked, sounding like she was annoyed. "Next bus that comes around this way, go throw yourself under it."

          "Hey! Meanie!" She crossed her arms and stuck out her lower lip in a pout. Lulu rolled her eyes and took Yuna's hand.

          "Come on, Yuna. Prince Charming awaits you," she said with a wink.

          "And _your_ Prince Charming awaits _you,"_ Yuna replied. "Lets just hope he found a way to fix his hair."

          Lulu sighed and reached out a hand for Rikku, who took it hesitantly as they walked towards the school. (A/N: Yes, Homecoming dances generally _are_ held at the school. Or at least _mine_ is.) Then she stopped walking, causing her two companions to stumble.

          "Just a thought… maybe we should let go of each others' hands?" She suggested. "I mean… think of what might happen if we walked up to a school all holding hands."

          Yuna nodded and dropped Lulu's hand, folding both of hers in front of her calmly. She managed to keep her cool exterior even though she was having a nervous breakdown on the inside. She scanned the scene again for Tidus but didn't find him. She was beginning to worry that he had forgotten her when she heard Rikku give a little squeak. At first she thought that her cousin had seen Gippal from the Machine Faction. In fact, she had seen Tidus heading their way, and Yuna spun to see where he was.

          He approached her from behind, and she carefully turned about to face him. He wasn't in a tux like she thought he would be but rather he was wearing dress pants, a white shirt, and a blazer. He held something in his hand, but from this angle Yuna couldn't make out what it was. He looked a bit nervous.

          "Hello," Yuna managed to squeak. She swallowed even though her mouth had gone dry. She was sure that he could see her face turning red from nerves and embarrassment, even though there was really nothing to be embarrassed about.

          "Hey," he replied softly, seemingly in a trance. "You look really nice."

          Although she said nothing in reply, he noted a smile creeping across her expression and was more than satisfied with that. He did feel a little nervous around Rikku and Lulu, particularly Lulu, however. It was a few seconds before Yuna caught on and motioned slightly for them to go. Lulu nodded and grabbed Rikku by the arm. The blonde swore in Al Bhed at her friend as she was dragged away.

          Once they were gone, Tidus remembered what he was holding and gingerly handed it to her. "This is for you," he murmured. It was a red rose with the thorns cut off. It looked rather like someone had bent and snapped the thorns off, as opposed to cutting them off, which led her to suspect that he'd just picked it out of someone's yard.

          "Thank you," she told him, smiling wider. They stood there for a moment, neither saying a thing, until Tidus looked over her shoulder at the thinning crowd outside of the school building as people went inside.

          "Shall we go?" He asked, putting his hand out to her.

          "Of course," she replied, taking the offered hand, and thinking that perhaps Rikku was right, and that she _would_ have fun here tonight.

          The inside of the school was _packed._ The funny part was that they weren't _packed_ in every available square inch of space; to the contrary, people had huddled and gathered in various places and many were dancing. A band stood on the stage, playing away in the half-lighted room. Everyone was dressed up, laughing, smiling, and obviously having a lot of fun.

          Tidus noticed Yuna's slight fear, and led them both to a less-occupied section of the room. "You said that you've never been to Homecoming before?" He asked her, speaking loudly so that he spoke over the music.

          "Never. Never been to _any_ dance before. I just... I guess I was always too scared to leave my house. You know..." she trailed off, leaving him to finish the sentence for himself. He nodded, knowing exactly what she meant--Seymour. Despite having spoken about it, Yuna seemed awfully calm.

          They didn't draw attention to themselves, and Tidus, since he was angry at the blitz team for bailing on him the night of the big game, was more than happy to be with Yuna. And the more they talked, the more she loosened up. She ended up becoming quite relaxed after a half-hour had passed.

          Meanwhile, Lulu was with Wakka. She had decided to take him up on his offer, and as long as her Moomba stayed securely tucked in her skirt, nothing would happen. Wakka seemed about ready to burst with happiness when Lulu showed up wearing the promised gold sash, and he had even taken care to look his best--and that included flattening his trademark and unorthodox hairstyle. Orange hair was slicked down with water, and he wore a black suit with a white shirt on underneath the blazer.

          "Hello," Lulu greeted.

          "Hi." Wakka sounded very nervous. "You... you really look amazing, ya?" His accent seemed to be getting in the way and his cheeks flushed.

          "Thank you," Lulu said in reply. A very slight blush stained her pale cheeks but it was hardly noticeable. "You look quite smart yourself, too."

          It took a moment for it to register with Wakka that "smart" didn't necessarily mean "intelligent" in this case. Once he did he relaxed a little and smiled. Maybe Lulu wouldn't be so dangerous as everyone made her out to be. Rikku had put her thoughts on rumours, tall tales, and stories rather well; it was when she was explaining to Wakka that she didn't believe the far-fetched stories in Yevons' teachings, and she had explained in very relevant terms that it was all just a collection of stories, and she believed that perhaps some of them were true, and others were just that--stories. After that, Wakka didn't argue with her on Yevons' teachings anymore. Nonetheless, the same thing was probably true about all of the stories about Lulu.

          Lulu was trying to teach Wakka how to dance properly without stepping on her feet. For a blitzer, he was quite awkward on his feet. She took his hands in hers and placed one around her waist and held the other with her own hand. After a few failed attempts at getting the steps right, they were finally dancing and not tripping.

          "Where'd you learn to dance?" He asked, keeping a close concentration on his steps.

          "My--my parents were ballroom dancers. When I was little, my mother taught me to dance, and by the time I was six, I'd gotten quite good at it," she explained.

          "Dey must be real proud 'a you, ya?"

          Lulu grew very quiet and her steps faltered a little but she managed to keep up the rhythm before Wakka killed them both from falling over. Quietly, she said, "Wakka... my parents died when I was seven. I've been living by my own devices for some eleven years now." She looked down and immediately dropped his hands, skittering away from everyone else to try and hide her tears.

          "Lulu!" Wakka wove through the crowd after her. He caught up and put a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't know. Please, don't run away. I didn't know. I'm _real_ sorry..." he trailed off.

          The BlackMage turned, rubbing her eye with one hand. She blinked at him for a moment before she nodded, a sign that she had accepted his apology. "I suppose I'm just oversensitive," she said as a sort-of apology. "I shouldn't be so sensitive. I guess they _would_ be proud of me if they were still alive."

          "Dey still proud 'a you," Wakka said. "Dey're just not around to show it, ya?"

          Lulus' gaze grew cold. "You know, that's a sensitive subject that you shouldn't approach with me," she snapped. "I used to be Yevon Catholic. I was faithful to the bone. When--when my parents died, I lost my faith. I was mad. Why, then, did the Fayth take my parents away from me when I needed them? Why did they leave me alone in the world with no one and nothing to look up to and to look after me? I was scared. Scared and alone. If there really _is_ a Yevon and Fayth, then they certainly have no tolerance for BlackMages."

          Wakkas' mouth hung open like a codfish. He wanted to defend his religion, but no words came to mouth. She had a point. He still believed that the Fayth and that Yevon did everything for a reason, that everything was for a greater good, but Lulu seemed to have some certain definite doubts about it. But that didn't make her a bad person... did it?

          "Just think of my questions as pure stupidity," he offered. "Like in 'A Midsummer Nights' Dream.' Puck says, 'What fools these mortals be!'"

          "You've read Shakespeare?" Lulu asked, astounded. He nodded shyly. "I didn't know you read Shakespeare." She kept her additional thought, that she didn't even think he knew how to _read,_ to herself.

          "Don't tell anyone, ya? I'd never live it down." He smiled crookedly.

          Lulu found herself grinning slightly. Imagine—the stereotypical jock actually read and liked Shakespeare. She herself had loved the plays since she was old enough to understand the old dialogue, and it was rare for her to find someone who liked it as she did, instead of merely reading it because they were assigned to in class. She jerked her head toward an unoccupied corner of the room where they sat together until most everyone forgot that they were even there.

          It was nine o'clock, and they had been there for an hour. Rikku had been, for lack of better words, ditched. Yuna and Tidus offered to stay with her, but Rikku didn't want to ruin her cousins' first date. Lulu was nowhere to be found. There was a crappy band playing on the stage, and the refreshments table was so crowded that she couldn't even get something to drink so she wouldn't look stupid standing about and doing _nothing._ She felt much like crying, which was uncharacteristic of her because she was always so happy. She signed and noticed that one of the doors was open, leading outside. Upon further investigation, it turned out that the door led out onto a concrete stoop and a few stairs, and out into the courtyard.

          Rikku sighed with relief. At least out here she could be alone without anyone actually seeing her. She walked down and sat on the steps with her elbows on her knees and her head hanging. She sighed heavily and rubbed her hands through her hair. She heard footsteps behind her, and someone came down next to her and sat on the stairs.

          "This seat taken?" The voice was male, and slightly familiar but Rikku could think of where she'd heard it before.

          "No, go ahead," she replied, taking a sidelong glance at her new companion. Blue eyes. Spiky blonde hair. She knew him from somewhere, but she couldn't think of _where_ and it was beginning to make her brain itch. Finally, she quieted her dignity and asked, "Do I know you from somewhere?"

          The stranger turned toward her slowly, revealing to her his right eye, which was covered with an eye-patch. "I don't think so. But then again, I'm not good with names and faces." He grinned. Rikku gasped and covered her mouth with one hand.

          "A-are you…" she trailed off and narrowed her eyes. "Gippal?" She tested _very_ quietly to see if he would respond.

          "Ah, so you know me," he said. "I'm not too well-known outside of the Al Bhed."

          "Yea, but I _am_ Al Bhed!" She squeaked. Normally, she would have been leaping off of the walls at the thought of being sitting next to, and _talking to,_ Gippal of the Machine Faction. But she was just pissed off from being ditched by her friend and having an outright _boring_ night that she just didn't have the oomph to do it.

          "For a fangirl, you're pretty sedate. Someone give you a tranquilizer?" Gippal joked.

          "No," she snapped. But then she started to giggle. The day she had found out that the Machine Faction would be at the Homecoming dance, she had been screaming and leaping off of the walls and the ceiling and babbling on and on in AL Bhed and playing all of her CD's at high volume until Yuna threatened to take her to the animal hospital and have her put down. She never found out for sure if her cousin was kidding or not, but she was _not_ about to call her bluff.

          "What's so funny?"

          "My cousin threatened to have me put to sleep the day I found out that you would be here. I was going crazy all over the house." She giggled again.

          "Your _cousin?"_ He asked, astounded.

          "Yea. I dunno if she meant it or not, though."

          Gippal's good eye was opened wide and both eyebrows were lot somewhere in his hairline.

          "My cousin's just like that, ya know. I don't really think she'd actually _ever_ hurt anyone." She reassured. Then she tilted her head to one side. She had read a lot about Gippal and the other members of the Machine faction but never once had she heard anything about what had happened to his right eye. "Hey… what, uh… what happened to your eye?" She asked.

          Gippal looked confused for a minute before he realized what she was talking about. "Oh, that. It's nothing."

          "Well, it hadda be _something."_

          "No, it wasn't anything."

          "Then why do you wear that thing?" She asked hands on her hips.

          A blush stained Gippal's cheeks. "I can show you if you promise not to tell anyone," he said. "And I mean you can't tell _anyone._ Got it?"

          "Yea, I got it…" she trailed off. He lifted his eye patch to reveal… a perfectly in-tact, chocolate-brown eye. Rikku's chest constricted. She began to snort and snigger. A hand over her mouth didn't help her any at all. Finally she broke down into a fit of giggles.

          "What?" Gippal demanded.

          "That's—that's _it?"_ She asked between giggles. "Your eyes are two different colors? So you cover one up?" Her chest constricted again and she lost her breath from laughing. Gippal looked a bit confused.

          "Well, it's not exactly sexy," he said in his own defense.

          "But…" she snorted and covered her mouth again, composing herself. "My cousins' eyes are bicolored, too, and she doesn't care."

          "You serious?" He asked.

          "Yea! She has one blue eye and one green eye and she just doesn't care about it."

          "Wish I was more like that."

          "I have spiral eyes and it's never bothered me. Most people don't know it's an Al Bhed trait so I'm okay as long as no one finds out."

          "This is one weird conversation we're having," he commented.

          "Ain't it?" Rikku giggled again. Someone called Gippal's name from inside. He rolled his eyes.

          "I gotta run," he said. "Here—" he quickly scribbled down on a piece of paper a phone number and his name. "Call me." He began to walk off, but called back over his shoulder, "Hey, what's your name?"

          "Rikku," she managed to say.

          "Rikku…" he trailed off. Then he winked at her and replaced his eye patch before disappearing into the crowded room.

          Rikku felt like she had died and gone to some kind of Utopia. Saying "Heaven" would make her sound Yevonite, but maybe there really _was_ a heaven after all. The events of this evening seemed to point out that there _was._

          Yuna leaned against Tidus, the pair of them swaying back and forth. They weren't really dancing since neither really wanted to draw attention, and besides that—they were far too comfortable where they were.

          "This is nice," Yuna commented softly.

          "Yea—bet we could dance great together, too."

          Yuna giggled softly, which faded into contented sigh. Tidus had been so nice to her all night—and very funny. He had explained to her why his jacket was covered in cat hair—it seemed that cats always knew when a person was going somewhere important, and sleep on their clothes for a few hours before they leave.

          Suddenly, Yuna froze. Out of the corner of her eye, she could have _sworn_ on her mother's grave that she had seen the characteristic blue hair of Seymour Guado. Tidus noticed her losing the color in her face and looked where she was frantically looking, but he saw nothing.

          "Yuna, what's up?" He asked.

          "He's here. I know he is," she whispered, looking around with wide, terrified eyes. She felt helpless and naked in this dress, despite the hundreds of people who would be witnesses should Seymour try anything. But that didn't mean he wouldn't stalk her on her way home or something else equally pleasant. Tidus could feel her trembling under his hands and he began looking for Seymour, too. He finally spotted him hiding in the shadows in the corner. He was watching Yuna intently with a crazy look in his eyes. He looked like some kind of wild fiend, trapped in a cage in mating season.

          "Yuna, it's okay," he whispered, although he had no idea how he was actually going to _make_ it "okay." He managed to catch sight of Lulu, who, in turn, looked at him, Tidus made a motion with his head towards where Seymour stood, and Lulu's eyes went wide with a mix of fury and fear. Then her eyes narrowed and she nodded, mouthing "Get out" to him.

          "Tidus?" Yuna whispered. She felt her legs get numb. Her legs knew what she wanted to do—she wanted to run. Run hard and fast and get as far from Seymour Guado as the isle of Besaid would let her.

          "Come on," he grabbed her hand and made a dash for the front door as Lulu flapped her skirts to wake her Moomba. The doll jumped to life immediately.

          "Moomba! Remember the ugly guy who was with Yuna in town a few weeks ago?" She asked. The Moomba nodded. "Well, go get 'im!" With those instructions, the doll jumped up and dashed towards Seymour, climbing this time up his robes and scratching his thighs. Seymour screamed and shook out his clothes, trying to rid himself of the accursed doll that kept abusing him. While he concentrated on that, Yuna and Tidus made their escape as a heavy crowd gathered around Seymour.

          Tidus led them through the parking lot to his own car. He was very surprised at how fast Yuna was on her feet, although, he amended himself, she was being fueled by fear, so she would definitely be fast.

          They made it to Tidus's little car and drove off to a park on the other side of town. He stopped the car and looked at Yuna, who looked scared, angry, confused, and downright _pissed off._

          "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

          "For what?"

          "I shouldn't have come. I should've known better. He'd follow me. He always does. He always finds out where I am." She put her face in her hands, then took them away and stared blankly out the front windshield. She was breathing shakily and he could tell that she wanted to cry. But she didn't cry. She stayed silent until finally he broke the silence.

          "I'll take you home."

          "No," she said quickly. "Can we… stay here? For just a little while?"

          "Sure."

          Yuna opened the door and got out of the car, going over to a pond that was lit with a single lantern hanging from a gazebo nearby. Tidus followed her.

          "Hey, you know, this isn't your fault."

          "Yes it is."

          "No it's not. It's not your fault, it's Seymour. Seymour's the one you should be mad at."

          Yuna stayed quiet for a minute, looking out at the water and watching a turtle come up for some air before disappearing again under the water. "I hate him." She said in such a venomous tone of voice that Tidus worried that she might mutate and turn into some kind of monster that would destroy the universe. Then he felt like smacking himself. One too many horror movies.

          "Something's gotta be done about him."

          "You have any ideas?" Yuna asked, staring at the water again.

          "No, but I'll think of something."

          She turned slowly. "Thanks," she whispered. A minute passed before she spoke again. "I used to come here all the time when I was little. It's about a mile from my house. I would build wooden boats and bring them down to this pond to try to make them float. They usually sank. Then I'd dive into the water to try and get them back, and I'd come home all wet and muddy, but I'd have my boat back, and Kimahri would always get upset. I'd say that it would never happen again, but every weekend I'd walk a mile down here and try to send another boat out across the water."

          Tidus said nothing, just listened. Sometimes people just needed to talk, and from what he knew of Yuna, there was probably no one around who was willing to _listen_ to her talk. She kept going.

          "I wonder whatever happened to that Yuna. The little carefree girl. I guess she's dead. She must've died when she entered junior high, and rumors about her began to spread. Like a wildfire." She sighed, hanging her head. "You must think… well, I don't know _what_ you must think about me. There's so many rumors that you probably were terrified of me. Most people are."

          "I heard about you from Rikku. She just tells me the truth," Tidus said.

          Instead of being reassuring, this scared Yuna. "She'd better not be using dirt on me. I could blackmail her, too!"

          "Whoa, whoa, calm down," he told her. "Calm down."

          They stood in silence again, but this time it was a comfortable one. Finally, Yuna asked, "Could you take me home? I'd walk but I can't in this dress."

          "Sure," he said with a grin.

          It took them five minutes to get from the park to Yuna's front door. The lights inside were off and the doors were locked, but Yuna had a key. When she got out of the car, Tidus followed and walked her to the door.

          "Thanks," Yuna whispered. "I'd invite you in, but I don't want to wake anyone up."

          "Ah, it's no problem," he said, dismissing it with a wave of the hand. "Auron's a real hellbeast when ya wake him up, so I know how that is."

          "Right then," she said unlocking the door. She opened it slowly, and stepped inside, not once taking her eyes off of him.

          "Right…" Tidus watched her go inside. "Sweet dreams, Yuna."

                                                                                                            ~*~

Hey! I finally finished! And it only took me… what… two weeks? Yeesh, I'm slipping. Well, I've been a bit… uh… sick the last few days. Actually they've been hellish cramps and I've been staying home from school because of them. That's bad. That's _really_ bad. Anyway. I sure hope you guys liked this chapter. Was it worth the wait? And I hope you like the Yuna+Tidus stuff I put in there. Please review! I'll love you forever and ever and ever if you do!

—the Vulpes Lapis        


	9. Healing Winds

Whoo! I am so on a roll here, people! I actually got this idea for a new chapter yesterday after I posted the last one but my fingers were hurting so I decided to start writing today. Anywho—here's the new chapter. And I wish to apologize now for all of you who wanted to see Tidus and Yuna smooch. Well, you know how skittish Yuna still is, and I have decided to make Tidus a gentleman. (Hel-_lo?_ Auron raised him! How can he not be?)

There's no disclaimer, dammit. I own them. All of them. They were my sweet sixteen prezzie. Now leave me _alone!_

                                                                                                    ~*~

Chapter 8

Healing Winds

"Yuuuuuuunie," Rikku drawled outside of her cousin's bedroom door in a sickly-sweet voice. "Yuuuuuuuuuunie, get uuuup!" The knocked on the door, but she received no answer from inside. Cautiously, she opened the door only to be met with a sneaker in her direction. She slammed the door closed immediately and stamped downstairs. "Fine then!" She yelled. _"Be_ that way!"

          Brother heard Rikku stamping down the stairs. "Rikku, Yuna does not get up?" He asked in his broken Common. Rikku scowled and nodded.

          "She's such a bitch in the morning."

          "When can I go try?" He asked eagerly. "When? When?"

          "No, you don't get to go try. That's a 'No Brothers' zone," she said, then stuck her tongue out at him. "Go on, you gotta get to work, anyway. You'll be late if you don't get moving soon."

          Brother looked at his watch and then at the kitchen clock. He swore in AL Bhed, grabbing his car keys off of the hook on the wall and running out the door in a blur. Rikku sighed, glad that she now had the house mostly to herself. Lulu wasn't answering her phone and Yuna was still out cold upstairs so she had no one to tell that she had met Gippal. She sighed, reaching down inside her shirt to pull out the slip of paper that had his phone number on it. She'd wanted to call him, but she couldn't think of anything that she could say.

          A few minutes later, she decided to try and wake Yuna again, but on her way past the font door to the stairs, the doorbell rang. She sighed and opened the front door to see who was there. To her surprise, it was Tidus.

          _"Tidus?"_ She asked in shock. "What're _you_ doing here?" She opened the screen door and let him in.

          "I… uh… came by to see how Yuna's doing," he stammered over the words. "Is she here?" He hoped that Rikku at least knew of the previous nights' close call with Seymour and their escape through the park. Since the blonde Al Bhed didn't seem surprised at all, he guessed that she either knew or had guessed what had happened.

          "Sure. It's about time someone got her up anyways," she stepped out of the way, letting him all the way into the hallway and closing the door.

          "Got her up? You mean she's still asleep?" He looked at his watch. It read 12:17.

          "Yea. I tried getting her up for a while, but all she ever does is throw stuff at me." She sighed. "But she'll be happy to see you, so why don't you go wake her up? Her room is the one at the end of the hallway upstairs to the right."

          Tidus nodded and went up the stairs to the left of the front door. At the top of the stairs and the end of the hallways to the right was the door that Rikku said was Yuna's. He studied the door, which was covered in signs and pictures and across the top was what _looked_ like yellow "Caution, Police Line, DO NOT CROSS" tape. A few of the signs looked real, like they might've been stolen. One caught his eye, one that read in big bold letters: **Notice! Private property! Trespassers will be violated. SURVIVORS WILL BE SHOT!**

          How welcoming. He shuddered and listened carefully. He was a little nervous about going into the room, so he knocked on the door. From inside, he heard a little shuffling and a soft, "thump" sound, so there was definitely someone in there alive.

          "Hello?" He called softly. "Anybody home? You awake in there?" This time he carefully opened the door enough so that he could stick his head in and see inside. The room was disorganized, with papers, books, and pencils strewn all over the floor along with dirty clothes and dishes leftover from midnight snacks.

          The bed in the middle of the room was piled with blankets and a few stuffed animals. There was a lump at the edge of it, and out from this lump stuck one pale-skinned, slender arm, the fingers just brushing the floor. He assumed that Yuna was under those blankets and attached to that arm—somewhere.

          Seconds later a shoe came whizzing in his direction. He dodged it and it hit the wall behind him, landing on the floor next to its' mate and a hairbrush. Yuna's voice came from under that pile of blankets; "Rikku, dammit, I told you not to go waking me up!"

          Rikku was right. She _wasn't _a morning person. Then again, he really hadn't expected her to be one. He quickly put his head back into the room and announced, "I'm not Rikku!" Before she got the chance to throw something else at him.

          Yuna sat bolt upright in bed, looked right at him with wide eyes and beginning to turn quite red. "You—I—Tidus, what are you _doing_ here?" She gasped, trying to cover herself with a blanket even though she was decently covered. Then she remembered what she had done a moment ago and looked concerned. "I didn't hit you, did I?" She asked.

          "Nah," he said. "Blitzer, remember? I've got good reflexes."  He couldn't help but look at her, thinking that perhaps he had found the only girl in Spira who could look sexy wearing baggy plaid pajama bottoms and a tank top.

          "Turn about, please, so I can get dressed," she told him, snapping him out of his daze. He obeyed and once he was turned, Yuna pulled on a pair of jeans and a gray zip-up sweatshirt. She threw her PJ's onto her bed and walked past Tidus to get her shoes and her hairbrush.

          "I'm, uh, sorry I woke you up," he apologized clumsily.

          "It's okay," she replied. "Rikku would probably rather I got up, anyway. Did she invite you over?"

          "No… I came to see how you were doing. If you were doing any better from last night." He followed her down the stairs.

          Yuna stopped in her tracks on the stairs, looking back up at him. He actually cared about her. He came by to see if she was all right. "I think I'm better, now," she said truthfully. "The initial scare's over, but I'm still mad," she said. Then she sighed. "I'm really sorry about causing all of that trouble."

          "Yuna," Tidus said firmly, taking her by the shoulders and turning her somewhat awkwardly on the stairs to face him. "It isn't your fault. Stop blaming yourself." When she didn't look convinced, he tried again, saying, "Hey, I had fun. Up until the fleeing-for-our-sanity part, I had fun."

          This made her smile. "Thanks." Silence for a moment. Then she hugged him around the waist, which was all that she could get at because he was standing a few steps over her.

          A deep bark from the back door broke the moment and Yuna went to go see what was up. He saw her facing the back door with her fists on her hips, growling Rikku's name under her breath. She opened the door and let a dog the size of a small car into the house. There was a note on the countertop near the back door, which read: _"Yunie, I've gone out to the mall. I should be back by four. Be good and don't do anything I wouldn't do! Love, Rikku."_

          "Would you like anything?" Yuna asked, ignoring Ursa as the dog blew past her to inspect the newcomer. She thought nothing of it, as she was used to her huge dog being about.

          _"Mph!"_ Tidus grunted, bending over a little. "No thanks."

          "Are you sure? It's no trouble, really." She dug into the refrigerator, looking for something to eat.

          "No, I'm—_oof!—_fine, thanks."

          "All right." Yuna pulled herself out of the refrigerator with an apple in her teeth and a half-drunk bottle of soda in one hand.

          "An apple and a coke for—_muph!—_breakfast?" Tidus asked, bending over a little further and scooting backwards a few inches.

          Yuna shrugged. "I'd just have the soda but Kimahri used to make me eat breakfast every day." Pause. "Besides, it's not _your_ breakfast." She took a bite of the apple before saying casually, "By the way, my dog's name is Ursa. It means 'she-bear' in Ancient." [A/N: Ancient = Latin. The word "ursa" actually _does_ mean "she-bear."]

          "We've met," Tidus remarked dryly, trying to back the dog up. Ursa was standing nose-to-crotch with the teenager and had been "inspecting" him for the last few minutes. "Call her off please," he nearly begged.

          "Ursa, go lay down," she pointed at the carpeting in the living room which was just off the kitchen. The big dog obeyed, laying down right on the threshold and looking absolutely pitiful with her huge brown eyes and her big, sad face. Yuna rolled her eyes. "You're pathetic, dog."

          "Think she listens to you?" Tidus asked, sitting down at the table adjacent to Yuna.

          "Probably. I don't know if she can understand everything that I tell her but she always listens when I talk," she said. "She's usually the only one who listens." Her face fell and she looked melancholy.

          "I'll listen," Tidus said softly, suddenly feeling a little sappy. But it was true. He _would_ listen to Yuna. He liked her—a _lot._ He hesitated before asking tentatively, "So, uh… you wanna do something today?"

          Yuna raised her eyebrows and polished off the rest of her apple, tossing the core into the garbage can. "Like what?" She asked. "You know I'm afraid to leave this house. It's like my security blanket."

          "We can go to my place," he offered.

          Yuna thought this over for a minute before glancing at her dog, who was still trying ever so hard to look as pitiful as possible. "I can't leave Ursa. I'd have to walk her."

          "I don't live too far from here. It took me about twenty minutes to walk. Why don't you bring her with us?" He suggested.

          "But… don't you have cats?" Yuna asked cautiously. Her dog treated cats and squirrels like chew-toys.

          "I can put them in the back room, they won't mind." He sounded like he was really trying to convince her to come with him. She decided to throw him a bone.

          "All right," she said. "I'll get her leash."

          Ursa wore a big purple harness, instead of a collar and leash—Yuna explained that it was to keep her from strangling herself when she pulled on the leash. She took her house key and locked up as they left. A skateboard was sitting on the porch, and she kicked it over and let her dog pull her at a steady speed on the board. Tidus was impressed—he knew that he himself would probably fall off of such a thing.

          "This way," Tidus pointed to the right. "I live in North Sandsfield."

          Yuna nodded, steering her dog much like a chocobo to face the right. Ursa set off at a normal walk and Tidus walked next to her.

          "If you have a car, how come you didn't drive here?" She asked.

          "I came home late last night, so Auron hid my keys so I couldn't drive anywhere," he explained. As soon as he said this he knew it was a mistake. Yuna immediately looked apologetic.

          "Tidus! Oh, no, I'm sorry. It's all my fault—"

          A hand covered her mouth. Tidus was tired of her blaming herself for everything.

          "It's not your fault," he stated firmly. "If I'd gone right home after I dropped you off then I wouldn't've gotten into trouble. Instead I went back to the park and stayed there for a while, okay? I lost track of time and ended up coming back home at twelve-thirty. I was supposed to be back by midnight."

          Yuna grinned underneath his hand and then removed it so she could say, "Or else your car turns back into a pumpkin and your wheels turn into mice?" Then she giggled—she couldn't help it. Nor could she resist the comment.

          "Yea. My car turns into pumpkin pie and catfood after midnight. Where do you come up with this stuff?" He asked.

          "It's a story. Cinderella," she explained. Hadn't he ever heard of it? Then again… maybe he hadn't. He was an only child and a boy so he probably didn't know.

          He thought for a moment. "Oh! I get it."

          "You said you lived in Zanarkand?" Yuna asked.

          "Yea. I played blitzball there since I was fifteen. After that Auron got canned so we hadda move here. I think he's happy about it, cuz he used to live here in his prime," he said.

          "His _what?"_ She asked, switching hands with the leash.

          "His prime. Auron's no spring chicken, ya know."

          "Does he _know_ you talk about him like this when he isn't looking?"

          "I talk about him like this to his_ face,"_ Tidus said. "He knows it. Besides, it's true."

          Yuna sighed. "If I ever said anything like that about Kimahri, he would've roared to break the windows and trussed me like a chocobo and thrown me into the river." There was a brief pause. "Or he would have threatened to do so. I doubt he would ever have done it."

          "Then why did you listen?"

          "With a threat like that, do I call his bluff or don't I?" Yuna asked, making a legitimate point.

          They turned onto a road near the sandy-covered road that led down to the beach. This was Sandsfield and it would be just a little further to Tidus's house. Yuna had kept her balance on the skateboard perfectly, but it was due to her dog keeping at one steady pace and not bolting. Then she saw a squirrel, as did Yuna. She leaped from the skateboard as Ursa began to run after the squirrel.

          "Ursa!" Yuna cried in vain. She kept a firm grip on the leash with her feet planted but this dog would have no trouble dragging her. Tidus, too, caught the leash and Ursa had considerable trouble dragging _both_ of them behind her. The squirrel saw its' window of opportunity and ran over someone's fence and out of sight.

          Finally, Yuna's dog was calmed down and they kept walking to the edge of the street where a house sat slightly isolated from the others. It was further from the neighbors' houses than the others were from their neighbors.

          "This one," Tidus said. "You might have to wait with the dog out here for a minute before you can come in, so I can get the cats out of sight." He reached into his pockets and then scrunched up his face.

          "What?"

          "Auron took my car keys, but my house keys are attached to them," he explained, sighing. "I'm locked out."

          "Oh, dear," Yune raised her eyebrows. "When will he be home?"

          "Probably not until tonight. He works for the police but he never actually tells me what he does… must just be one of those things," he said, then he shrugged. He went over to the fence and climbed on top of one of the posts, balancing on it.

          "What are you _doing?"_ Yuna gasped. "You could get _hurt!"_

          "I've gotta let us in _somehow,"_ he said. "This is easy, I've done it before when I got locked out." The fence was high enough so that he could set his hands on the roof of the garage and pull himself up, walk across the top of the garage, and onto the roof of the house, right outside a window. He opened the window and crawled into the house.

          Faintly, Yuna could hear someone running around, some doors opening and closing, and a little scuffling going on inside. Ursa's ears perked, and she was interested as to what lay inside that door. Finally, Tidus opened the front door. He looked like he had had a hard time with the cats because he was covered in cat hair and one of them had scratched his arm.

          "Hey—sorry that took a little while. Fast little suckers," he said, letting her in.

          Ursa was yanking on her arm, trying to sniff every nook and cranny in the house because she could smell cats. Yuna let her off of the leash and she immediately went off looking for the source of the smell.

          Tidus couldn't help but notice that Yuna seemed a little upset. For a while he kept his mouth closed but finally he asked, "What's wrong, Yuna? You look sad."

          Yuna took a deep breath, deciding whether or not she should actually tell him the truth. "You really wanna know?" She asked. She felt that she could trust him. She had not known him very long but she knew in her intuition that she could trust him, and she could trust, if nothing else, her gut instincts.

          "If you don't mind telling me."

          "I'm… scared. And I'm lonely. Since my parents died I've been by myself. I've been alone, but I was never _lonely."_ She explained. "I had Rikku, and I had Kimahri, and I had Lulu. And it's been like that for years and years and years. But now Kimahri's gone. And I'm growing up and this is my last year of school. After this I actually have to get up, get out of Besaid, and go _do_ something with my life, you know? And I'm scared. I'm scared of Seymour because when I'm out of school there won't be any laws protecting me from him." She sighed. "But now I just want to have friends, but I hardly have any. And for the first time in my life it's caught up with me. I'm _lonely._ And I don't like it." She paused and looked up at him. "I'm not making any sense am I? I'm just rambling."

          "Ramble all you like," he told her. "I'll listen."

          "Why are you being so nice to me?" She asked warily. Kimahri had taught her not to look a gift chocobo in the mouth, but he had also taught her that she shouldn't trust everyone, even if they seemed to have good intentions.

          This shocked him. "Because I like you," he said plainly. He meant what he said, and he _did_ like her and possibly as more than just a friend, but he was a little afraid to tell her.

          Yuna's fist clenched. "I _hate _him," she snarled. "I just want him to stop it. I want to live my own life without living in fear and always looking over my shoulders and waiting for him to spring and pounce on me."

          "Yuna, I can help you. Auron works for the police, remember? I can get information that can get him thrown in jail for stalking you," he said. "Stalking is illegal and that's what he's doing. Well, it's illegal in Zanarkand, but I don't know about here. Even so, whether or not he get arrested or even convicted doesn't matter because if he's even _accused_ of sexual misconduct with a student, it goes on his record forever, and he'll get kicked out of the school. And since he'll have that on the records, he'll have a hell of a time getting a new job."

          "So you'll help me, then?" She asked eagerly.

          "Of course I will. We can get Rikku and Lulu involved, too. The more hands we have, the more likely it is that we can make his life a living hell. What say you?"

          Yuna turned this over in her mind. One way or another, she was _not_ going to give into Seymour's demand that she drop out and live with him. She knew well enough _why_ he wanted her to drop out at the end of the semester. She wouldn't have all of her credits by then, and would not be eligible to graduate. Without at least a high-school diploma, she would be helpless and unable to get a job—therefore dependant on whomever she lived with for money.

          "I say I have nothing to lose."

          "Good. Yuna, I can help you, but… you're gonna have to trust me before I can help. You'll have to trust me."

          She paused. She gathered all of her nerves and pecked him lightly on the cheek. "I trust you," she said.

                                                                                                             ~*~

Okay! There it is, and only six days after the other one. I wish I had written this sooner, but I had a HUGE fight with my mom over my chem. grades. I hate chem.…  oh, so much. Anyway. Here the plot thickens, and yes, there will be more of everyone else in the next chapter.  I just wanted to get this one posted, you know? So anyway. Now that it's posted, won't you leave me a review and tell me if you loved it or if you hated it? *bows* Thank ye kindly, good sirs and madams! 


	10. I Won't Say I'm In Love

My internet is being such a bitch right now and not letting me see FanFiction this morning. But my brother is out all day, so I can pretty much do whatever I want without him interrupting me every ten minutes and asking me if he can use the computer. I guess that's a plus. I'll be working of both of my fics today but my #1 priority right now is this one, "Meets the Eye, Meets the Heart," because I've got ideas for it. And my sweatshirt smells like my moms' perfume. Damnit, I wish she wouldn't borrow my clothes…

These characters are not mine. If you are so stupid as to think that they _are_ mine, I shall have no choice but to hurt you. Severely. Now start running.

                                                                                                             ~*~

Ch 9

I Won't Say I'm In Love

It was late at night when Yuna finally wandered home. This time, she had walked alone, knowing that her dog would keep her safe if someone unwanted snuck up on her. The sun had already set and it was only eight o'clock, and she knew that she'd be in a fair amount of trouble with Rikku, Brother, and Cid when she walked into the house, but she didn't care. She'd spent the whole day with Tidus. And he was going to help her get Seymour off of her back once and for all. And she'd kissed his cheek. Twice. She almost skipped the entire way home.

          The door to her house was locked, like it was when she had left. She thought that it was rather odd—Brother usually left it unlocked. She let herself into the house, and let Ursa off of the leash.

          "Hello?" She called. "Anyone here?" She saw a light on in the living room, so _someone_ was home, but when she yelled out, nobody answered her. That was odd. She looked around the corner into the living room and saw, to her surprise, Rikku and a blonde man locked in a passionate embrace on the sofa. "Hey, Rikku. You wanna tell me how long you've been playing 'doctor' in here?" She snapped. Who was that guy?

          The pair sprang apart like frightened rabbits. The man replaced a black eye-patch and straightened out twisted clothes. Rikku flipped over on the couch so that she was on her stomach and looking at Yuna, her cheeks burning red.

          "H-hi, Yunie," she squeaked shyly. Ursa saw the newcomer and immediately began to sniff his clothes and hands. Yuna frowned.

          "Hello, Rikku," Yuna said in a sarcastic voice. "Studying biology?" Her cousins' face turned red. The brunette addressed the man, who looked very familiar but she couldn't place where she'd seen him before. "I know you from somewhere," she declared. "Did my dog ever bite you?"

          "No, but she might now," he said, hoping the dog would stay clear of his more delicate anatomy. He'd never been really comfortable around big dogs like this one.

          "Yuna, this is Gippal," Rikku managed to squeak out.

          "Where've I heard that name?" She mused out loud. "Sounds familiar."

          "Machine Faction… posters… room… obsessive behavior—ringing any bells?" Rikku asked impatiently.

          "Oh, yea," realization came into her face. She knew who this was. "Al Bhed prettyboy." She looked from one of them to the other and back again. "Hate to break it to you, Rikku, but it's getting a little late and Cid and Brother might be home soon. You'll have to kick the playboy out."

          "Hey!" Gippal frowned.

          "Why didn't you tell me when they would be home?" Rikku gasped. Now she looked a little panicky.

          "I assumed you knew, I mean, they're related more closely to _you,"_ Yuna said. "Besides, I won't baby you and I left after I got up." She paused and looked at Gippal again. "Rikku, either you kick him out or I will, and you won't like the boot-print I'll leave if I have to do it."

          "Maybe I'd better go," the Al Bhed man said meekly. He wasn't used to girls being so aggressive.

          "Hey, look," Yuna put her hand on his shoulder. "I don't mind you coming back here, but I just don't want you getting caught. All hell would break loose if Cid or Brother caught you with Rikku."

          As soon as Gippal left, the blonde turned to her and planted her fists on her hips. "Yunie, why were you so mean to him?"

          "Wasn't intentional," she said. "Besides, I have good news."

          "Oh yea? What is it?" She seemed all right, even though Yuna had kicked Gippal out of the house. But Rikku knew well enough that her father did _not_ like her hanging around boys—especially older boys. The Al Bhed were notorious for arranging marriages with daughters and keeping the girls virgins until marriage.

          "Tidus agreed to help me with my… problem," she didn't want to say the name, fearing that she might jinx it.

          "You serious? You told him about that? What did he say? How's he gonna help? Are you guys dating?" She asked her questions one after another, leaving no time for Yuna to supply an answer.

          "Rikku, shut up and sit down, and then I'll tell you!" She couldn't believe sometimes how _fast_ her cousin could talk. Didn't she ever breathe? She shook her head. "Yes, I told him a long time ago about Seymour. Lulu made me promise that I would tell someone and get help. I thought you knew."

          "I guess I did. Maybe I forgot. Blonde, remember?" She giggled, tugging on one of her long blonde braids. "Anyway… what else?"

          "His guardian works for the police but he didn't say exactly what he does… Tidus said he'd see if he could find some loopholes and get Seymour into trouble for stalking what whatnot."

          "Ooh, sounds serious," Rikku drawled. Yuna lifted a hand as if to smack her and the blonde immediately recoiled with her hands up to shield herself.

          "He's not my freakin' boyfriend!" She growled.

          "I never said he was," Rikku replied. She was getting the best of her cousin—a rare occurrence.

          "Oh…" Yuna trailed off, a blush starting to spread on her cheeks.

          "Ooh, I get it," the blonde perked up. "You _like _him!"

          "No, I don't!" She persisted.

          "Yes you do."

          "No I don't!" She stomped one foot on the floor.

          "Geez, don't get all defensive on me," Rikku said indignantly.

          "I'm not," she said back.

          Rikku decided to take a chance. "So then why do you like him, then?" She put her weight on the foot behind her so that she could dive and run out of the way if Yuna decided to suddenly go berserk on her.

          Surprisingly, Yuna's eyes went all glazed over and she sighed. "Because he's a sweetheart and nice and absolutely gorgeous." Once she realized what she had done, she covered her mouth with her hands. "Aie! Rikku! Oui'na e crayg!" ["You're a sneak!"]

          "Al Bhed, remember?" She sniggered. "E gnaf ed! Oui mega Tidus!" ["I knew it! You like Tidus!"] She squealed.

          Yuna sighed heavily. "Fine, then, I'll just go upstairs to bed." She turned and started up the stairs.

          "Yunie, it's only eight-thirty!" Rikku protested.

          "I know, but I'm tired," she said. This was true. She _was_ pretty sleepy, and she wanted to go upstairs and dream of the days' events as soon as possible. And she felt very shivery, even though it wasn't cold. When she woke up the next morning, she felt like she had been hit by a bus and the absolute _last_ thing she wanted to do was to get up. Unfortunately, Rikku wandered into her room just after noon to wake her up.

          "Yunie, this is the second day you've slept past noon! Come on, you gotta get up! No _wonder_ you can't get to sleep at night!" The blonde said, fists on her hips and frowning.

          Yuna turned over, bleary eyes glaring murderously at her cousin. "Rikku, how would you like your eyebrows plucked?" She asked venomously. "From the inside?"

          "Yunie, what's with _you?"_ She asked. "The least you could say is a simple 'Leave me alone, I'm still sleepy.'" She crossed her arms and turned away. "You've hurt my feelings…"

          "Rikku, I don't give a damn. Get the hell out of here or I'll broadcast to the school that you're an Al Bhed," she threatened. She'd use the Big Guns to get her cousin to leave her alone when she felt so sick like this. She'd probably caught a cold. She hated colds. She never got the flu, or a nasty throat condition, or pneumonia, or something that they _knew_ how to cure. She always, always, always got colds. She rolled over and tried to get back to sleep, and not succeeding.

          Finally, resigned, she went downstairs in her pj's and sat down at the kitchen table in disgust. She made herself a cup of tea and cupped her hands around it, shivering in her seat.

          "Yuna, you not feeling like a well?" Brother asked, incorrectly using the phrase, "Don't you feel well?"

          "What?" She snapped. She had to decipher this message herself. "No, I'm not feeling at all well. Now leave me alone or I'll kill you. Slowly. Then I'll use the most powerful white magic curative spell I know and bring you back to life. Then I will kill you again."

          His eyes went wide, and he paused for a moment, wondering whether or not Yuna would actually kill him. He decided that it wasn't worth to risk and left the table, being careful to take a very wide berth of her chair.

          Rikku noticed Yuna's foul temperament and decided to take a chance and try to do something nice for her cousin. She took her a glass of orange juice and a couple of cold pills and set them next to her empty tea mug.

          "Yunie, you think you can go to school tomorrow?" She asked tentatively. The brunette had her head buried in her arms at the table. She looked up, bleary eyed and pale-faced.

          "Not unless the Anatomy and Physiology class is cutting up cadavers," Yuna replied dryly. Even through her bad mood, she managed to smile at her own comment, and Rikku giggled a little. Then her face fell. "Aw, dammit."

          "What?" Rikku picked up her empty mug and brought it to the sink.

          "I have a test tomorrow in second period. I can't miss it, Seymour will use it as an excuse to keep me after class another day!" She put her head down _hard_ on the table. "Why now? Why can't I get sick some other time? Like after I've graduated?"

          "Rikku, why are Yuna speaks to her feet?" Brother asked, glancing at Yuna from around the doorframe leading to the living room.

          "Hey, scram, stupid!" Rikku yelled, raising the soapy tea mug up as if to throw it. Brother immediately turned tail and ran out of the kitchen. "Boy I really hate him. He's like a mosquito. I just can't get him to stop buzzing in my ears! You know he still thinks that bra I gave him was yours?"

          "Rikku, you're a textbook example of why children should _not_ be dropped on their heads," Yuna said.

          The back sliding glass door slid open, and Lulu walked into the kitchen and sat down casually at the table, as if she lived there. It was her way. She'd been doing that for years, because she was over so often that she practically _did_ live there. So she would either come in the front door without knocking, or walk around and use the back door.

          "My Yuna-is-in-distress Sensor went off. What's wrong? You don't look well."

          "Leave me alone to die…" Yuna groaned. Her skin was prickling painfully and all she wanted right now was to unzip it and crawl out of it.

          "Yuna, it's just a cold," the mage snapped. "What are your symptoms?"

          "My head feels like there's a tap-dancing shoopuf in it, my skin is prickling like my body hairs have turned into needles, and even as we speak, I think a little man inside my head is starting to build a brick wall in my nasal passages."

          Lulu blinked. "All right, you have a headache, oversensitivity, and a clogged nose. Sounds like a cold to me. You'll be better in a few days. In the meantime, get plenty of rest and don't breathe on anyone else. Do you have a fever?"

          "Doe," Yuna sounded now like her nose was definitely clogged. "But I have a dest id Seymour's class toborrow. I can't afford to biss that!"

          "So then go to school up until you have his class, then come home," Lulu suggested, getting up to look through her refrigerator.

          "I think I deed a dote," she said over her shoulder. "Lulu?" She begged.

          "All right, all right. It was my idea. I'll write you a note to get out early," she conceded.

          "I love you, Lulu."

          "Speaking of _love,"_ Rikku giggled. "How'd your date with Father Teresa go?" [A/N: Absolutely NO OFFENSE intended to those of you who are reading this and are religious, but I couldn't resist putting that in. If you really hate it, tell me and I'll remove it and repost the chapter.]

          Lulu sent her a nasty, evil glare. "Fine, thank you."

          "So, you gonna see him again?" She persisted. "Or was it just a one-shot thing? A pity date?"

          Uncharacteristically, Lulu merely shrugged her shoulders. "I'm unsure," she said. "He's sweet but he's such a… a religious _fanatic_ that it makes me want to vomit." She sighed. After they left the dance, instead of going right home, they walked around the park for a while, and ended up near a churchyard where a very old graveyard sat. The graves were varied, some from that year, and some dating back up to two hundred years ago. She'd admitted to him that she liked walking through graveyards, just not at night. There was something about a graveyard during the day that made it different. It was always peaceful, she'd told him, with messages written on the tombstones about sleep, and rest, and love, and watching over the world. Wakka had given her then a very strange look, but nodded slowly. For a while she was worried that he'd spread rumors about her being a witch or a gravedigger, but no mention of the event came for the rest of the night, and he drove her home and walked her to the door—like a perfect gentleman.

          "If you like hib, you'll get over it," Yuna suggested. "Or baybe he'll tone it down a bid." She shrugged. "I dunno. But on the plus side, his being a religious dork will save you from hib spreading rubors about you."

          Lulu nodded. "That's the only Yevonite philosophy that I still believe in. 'Do unto others…'" She nodded. "Of course, over the years I've managed to twist it into being, 'Be as horrible as you want to other people just as long as you can take it calmly when someone else is that horrible to you.'"

          "If you can't take it, don't deal it?" She asked.

          "Yes. Exactly like that."

          "Boy I fell left out… I 'ave absolutely no idea what you guys are talking about!" Rikku said. They'd forgotten she was Al Bhed.

          "Doesn't batter eddyway," Yuna sniffled a noseful back into her head.

          "That's disgusting Yunie! Go blow your nose!"

          "I can't, this is only a one-way street." She put her head down. "I'm gonna go upstairs and take a dap. All right? And unless the floor is on fire, I don't want anyone coming upstairs to wake me up." She said her goodbyes and stumbled back up the stairs, her bed a welcoming sight.

          Yuna spent the duration of the day curled up on her bed, watching movies on TV. Her mood was lightened a little bit when she caught one of her favorites, an older comedy called "Victor-Victoria," but she fell asleep halfway through it and didn't wake up until eight. She stumbled downstairs for another dose of medicine and a hot water bottle. Rikku was sitting in the living room, fighting with her brother over the television remote control. When she saw Yuna, she let go of the device, sending Brother tumbling backwards over the arm of a chair.

          "Hey Yunie," she said carefully. "Tidus called while you were asleep. He wanted to know if he could come over."

          "Why didn't you come and get bee?" She sniffled, popping down two pills and heating up some water on the stove.

          "The floor wasn't on fire," Rikku said, putting her hands up to shield herself in case Yuna decided to hit her.

          "Oh. Okay. Did you tell hib I was dying very slowly?" She asked, wrapping her blanket around herself tightly.

          "No, I just said you were sleeping and that you weren't feeling well, that's all," she replied. "Go upstairs. I'll bring the hot water bottle when it's heated up, okay?"

          Yuna nodded, surprised at how responsible and even maternal her younger cousin was being. It was probably just because she was sick, she decided. She went back upstairs wrapped in her blanket and fell into bed again, very dizzy, very tired, and wishing that she would just get struck by lightning _now_ and get it over with. When her alarm clock went off at six, she wished more than _anything_ that she didn't have to get up. But somehow, she managed to get up, cleaned, and dressed.

          They got to school a little late, because Rikku had to dive them and she wasn't used to driving Yuna's motorbike. Yuna wasn't up to doing much of anything in art class that morning, so she found a chair in the back room where two of the three kilns were running, making the small room toasty warm. She sat down and promptly fell asleep in her chair. Tidus watched her from where he was seated.

          "Is she gonna be okay?" He asked Rikku. "I mean… she doesn't look good. She looks kinda green."

          "She really shouldn't be here. She should be at home, resting, but she said she had a test in second period that she couldn't afford to miss because you-know-who might keep her after class another day." She went back to arguing with her project.

          Tidus nodded slowly. He'd keep a close eye on her for the next class. He was still sitting behind her in that class and he wanted to make absolutely sure that Seymour didn't do something that he shouldn't. But in reality, he'd crossed _that_ line when he told Yuna to come live with him.

          Miss Amí from the art room ended up having to wake Yuna and give her a pass to Seymour's classroom so she wouldn't be given an Unexcused Tardy. She came in about three minutes after the bell ran, and she thought that she would just about faint. Her head was spinning, her vision was disoriented, and she wasn't exactly sure, but she thought that she might have felt her stomach turn itself inside out.

          Even though she had a signed pass, Seymour still opened his mouth to tell her that she had to stay after class. Someone from near the back of the room spoke just then, saying, "She's got a pass, it's signed, she's excused—just give the damned test and get it over with. Real quick, like ripping off a band-aid."

          Tidus.

          Yuna looked his way with such a look of relief on her face that he feared that she would melt into a puddle on the floor. Seymour told her to go sit down, then passed out tests. Since the test didn't require _too_ much thinking, Yuna got finished with it in about half an hour, turned the paper in, and put her head down on her desk, shivering slightly. In twenty minutes, she would be allowed to go home. Twenty minutes, she told herself over and over.

          She zoned out a few times, managing again to get a grip on reality long enough to stay awake. Something warm and heavy draped over her shoulders, and she recognized the fur lining of her denim jacket, which she had put on the floor when she sat down. Tidus patted her shoulder gently.

          "Thank you," she whispered.

          "No talking!" Seymour snapped. "Tidus Reina, sit back down in your seat!"

          "Sir, she looks like she's gonna pass out. Permission to take her to the nurse and have her brought home?" He sounded as polite as he could muster.

          "No, you may not. In your seat, boy."

          "What if she faints? Better safe than sorry." He planted his fists on his hips and waited in a stare-down with Seymour until the man broke the gaze.

          "Fine. Take her to the nurse and come _right back,"_ he said.

          He nodded. "Hey, Yuna," he nudged her gently. "Come on, get your stuff. I'm takin' you outta here."

          Yuna nodded, clumsily putting her jacket on and picking up her backpack. Tidus led her from the classroom and down the hallway to the nurse. Lucky for them, they were on the same floor as the nurses' office, so they didn't have that far to go. On their way, they spotted a handful of couples completely wrapped around one another.

          "How can they do that?" Yuna asked. "Wherever one goes, the other follows! They're like Siamese twins! They're never without the other. They're never _alone._ If you have to say something, _both_ of them have to hear it."

          "No one really _expects_ them to be without the other. I mean, if one gets in trouble, the other serves the detention with them," Tidus said with a shrug. He'd had a handful of short-term girlfriends before but none like the couples that he saw around here, who were more like skin grafts than people.

          Yuna suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Even teachers let them have it their way?"

          "Most of the time. Usually all of the time." He tilted his head to one side. "Why?"

          "I have an idea…" she trailed off. Then she turned to him and took his hand. "Pretend to be my boyfriend. Just to make sure that Seymour never gets a chance to be alone with me."

          Eyes wide, Tidus just stared at her. He would rather have been her _actual_ boyfriend, rather than just putting on an act to scare someone off, but he decided to take what he could get and work on it from there. "Okay," he said. "I'll be your boyfriend."

          "Thank you," she hugged him tightly, and then slipped into the nurse's office. When she was gone, a grin crept across his lips… she hadn't corrected him when he said, "I'll be your boyfriend" instead of, "I'll pretend to be your boyfriend."

                                                                                                              ~*~

OHMYGOSH! That took _forever,_ didn't it? Actually, it involves a few interims, two bad grades, one grade screw-up, a fight with my parents, some sulking, and banned computer time. But I'm back, and here's your chapter. So… YAY!  Please review and make this very depressed author happy! (Actually, I'm in a good mood. I'm off of my stupid meds and I have my computer back after a few days of being banned.) More coming as soon as possible. Ideas and criticism are both welcome. So is praise. ^_^       


	11. All's Fair In Love And War

Hey everyone! I got an idea in school yesterday, and I went with it and today I have enough oomph to get on with it. So, here we go! Wow, you people probably love me for getting a move on with this sucker quickly. Or fairly quickly, anyway. Well, I'll shut up now and get a start on this story and hopefully have it posted in a week. I won't be able to work on it this weekend (the 19th-21st) because I'll be in New York visiting *dun, dun, dun!* relatives! *scream* Okay, enough. I'm writing, I'm writing…

I won't cave and write more disclaimers!

                                                                                                   ~*~

Ch 10

All's Fair in Love and War

Rikku sat on the edge of Yuna's bed, watching her cousin pace back and forth, walking into her closet, then burying her head and shoulders in her dresser drawers, and then heading back to the closet. It seemed that her "charade" with Tidus was becoming _more_ than just a charade, or so it seemed to her, anyway. She glanced at the clock—black numbers blinked 7:45.

          "Maybe if you started to dress a little more like a girl and a little less like a burlap sack, it'd look more like you guys were going out," she suggested, watching Yuna disappear into the closet again. "Could even lead to other things. Come on, you know you'd like that."

          "I know _I_ would, but I don't think he would," she said, voice somewhat muffled. "Besides that, the only reason he's doing this for me is because he feels sorry for me. That's all." She sighed again, growling a little and tossing a heavy winter jacket out of the closet and onto the floor. She stepped out of it, still wearing her camisole and underwear. Rikku rolled her eyes. It was lucky for them that they had an afternoon half-day that day, or they would already be twenty minutes late for school.

          "Hey, why do you wear those things?" Rikku asked, regarding her cousin's choice of undergarments. "They're probably hot in summer, aren't they?"

          "A little," she admitted with a shrug.

          "So why not be like every other girl and wear a thong and a bra?" She suggested, preparing herself for an onslaught of yelling.

          "I don't wanna risk it. Don't wanna look _too_ nice, remember? Seymour?" Yuna reminded her.

          "I don't think he stays awake at nights contemplating your _underwear,_ Yunie!"

          "Look, if I thought it'd turn Seymour off, I'd wear _boxers!"_ Yuna snapped. "Besides, wearing a thong would be like walking around with a constant and self-inflicted wedgie."

          "Suit yourself," Rikku said with a shrug.

          "I will, thank you." After a few more minutes of searching through her closet for clothes, she gave up and sat on the other side of her bed from Rikku. "Pypa, I never thought I'd live to see the day when I started asking _you_ if I could borrow clothes."

          "You wanna borrow clothes from me?" Rikku's eyes went very wide and a huge grin spread over her face. "Well, it's about _time!"_ She yipped, bouncing around. "I'll get you a cute little denim mini and a tank top and some makeup—"

          "Don't jinx it or I'll wear sweatpants," Yuna threatened. "I just want to borrow a pair of jeans and a shirt. Just until I can get some of my own, all right? And don't bring anything pink or covered in hearts and sparkles, or I'll vomit."

          "You are such a _killjoy!"_ Rikku huffed, getting up to go to her room and look for the requested clothes.

          "One step at a time, Rikku. And if I told you I wanted you to give me a total makeover, you'd have me committed to a mental institution, admit it!"

          "That's only because you've never shown _any_ interests at all in what you look like. Until you started fake-dating Tidus, anyway," Rikku hollered back from her own bedroom. She came back with a pair of dark flares and a red shirt with embroidery up one arm. "Will these work, your royal highness?" She asked dryly.

          Yuna nodded. "Yes, thank you, Pypa." The clothes fit her rather well, and she had to admit that they looked nice on her, albeit not really her style. It had been a very long time since she had worn jeans that fit properly.

          "So how's your little act going, by the way? I mean is it working out like you'd intended?" Rikku asked.

          Yuna shrugged, threading a cloth belt through her belt loops to close the enormous gap that the jeans left around her waist. "Truth be told, I don't know _what_ I expected. I just figured it was a way to make sure that Seymour would never get the chance to be alone with me. Now I guess he's absolutely _seething_ at the appearance that Tidus got to me before he did." She giggled, remembering the wide-eyed look on Seymour's face the morning she walked into his classroom hand-in-hand with Tidus. In the few moments before the end of class, when the students had nothing to do and were just talking amongst themselves, she and Tidus had been whispering back and forth and pretending to be flirty about it, as Seymour couldn't _hear_ what they were really talking about. Out of the corner of her eye that morning, Yuna could almost _swear_ that she saw his facial varicose veins about to pop.

          "Hmmm, it does sound serious," the Al Bhed giggled. "I smell a date coming along soon."

          "Rikku, we're just friends. I don't think he'd date me for real. He could hook _any_ girl he wanted—and probably a wide range of _guys—_so why would he just settle for me?" She sounded a little melancholy, the same way a person sounds when reality has given them a slap in the face.

          "Maybe he sees something in you that you don't see in yourself."

          Yuna gave her a wicked-evil glare.

          "Just admit I'm right and move on, Yunie," she said cockily.

          "So how do you plan on getting to school for the rest of the year?"

          "Hey, that's hitting below the belt!"

A telephone rang, shaking Wakka out of a deep sleep and a nice little dream about Lulu and a swimming pool. He groaned, silently cursing whoever was calling him at eight o'clock on an afternoon half-day morning. He rolled out of the hammock he slept in, stumbled across the room, and grabbed what he assumed was the telephone off of the small desk on the other side of the room.

          "Hello? Hello? _Hello?"_ He tried over and over again to engage in conversation, but no one answered—and the phone was still ringing. He'd picked up a shoe. What was a _shoe_ doing on his desk? Who knew? He grabbed the telephone this time and answered it.

          "Finally, man, how long's it take you to find a freakin' _phone?"_ The voice belonged to Tidus.

          "Tidus? Brudda, you know what _time_ it is?"

          "Yea, about five past eight."

          _"Exactly!_ I don't have to be in school for another hour and a half, ya? Whatcha callin' me for?"

          "I need to ask you a favor and you're the only person I can think of besides Rikku to do this with me."

          For a few seconds Wakka was a little nervous. "Do _what,_ exactly?"

          "I' wanna do something to Seymour, but I need your help. Rikku can't pick up a car. You're strong enough to do it, and I want you to help me. And you _will_ help me."

          "What are you _talkin'_ about?" Wakka yelled, looking confused.

          "You'll see. Just wait outside, okay? I'll pick you up."

          "You gonna pay me or somethin', brudda?"

          "No, but if you _don't_ help me, I'm gonna hang up this phone and call Lu and tell her that you still sleep with a stuffed animal."

          Horrified, Wakka yelled into the telephone, _"How do you know about that?"_

          Tidus was laughing so hard on the other end that he briefly feared slight loss of bladder control. "I didn't. I guessed. Everyone's got a dirty secret, man, and I found yours!" He managed to gasp. He laughed again. "Hey, I won't tell. Just wait outside; I'll come pick you up. We got some stuff to do this morning, right?"

          "Okay, but answer me dis—what the heck you wanna go do somethin' to Mister Seymour, ya? What's he done to you?" He paused. "He fail you on a test or somethin'?"

          There was a long pause on the other end. "No. It has to do with Yuna, and I'll tell you some other time. I can't tell you right now."

          "Fine, I won't ask. I'll be waitin' outside. And Tidus?"

          "Yea?"

          "Don't go wakin' me up like this when I could be sleepin' in!" He slammed the phone down.

          True to his word, Tidus was there in only a few minutes to pick Wakka up. When they got to the school parking lot, the student lot was near empty except for a few scattered cars, and two lone figures standing by a motorbike. Yuna and Rikku had also shown up.

          "Hey, Rikku, I thought I told you to come alone!" Tidus said, looking over at Yuna, who was leaning casually on her bike with her helmet tucked underneath one arm and resting on her hip. Her head was tilted slightly to one side and her eyes held an inquisitive look.

          "Sorry, Tidus. I hadda get here somehow, and Yunie's my ride," she said apologetically.

          "What's going on here?" Yuna asked, switching hips with her helmet.

          "I, uh…" Tidus tried to answer without giving it away. It was meant to be a surprise for her, and she was not to know about it until after Seymour found out. And he was having trouble concentrating on anything other than her choice of clothing. She must've borrowed clothes from Rikku, he thought, and he was damned glad of it. Her figure wasn't hidden inside of her clothes, and he found himself at a loss for words and very short of breath.

          "I get it," she sighed. "I'm not authorized personnel. I shouldn't know about this." She faked a dejected look. "Fine, then, I'll just leave you guys here and go make a mess in the art room. Adios!" She waved behind her and leaped the hedges that separated the parking lot from the front of the school. Tidus watched her until she disappeared into the building.

          "Hey, brudda, you sure this ting between you two ain't more than an act?" Wakka teased. "I mean, just an act don't mean ya have to stare at her when she walks away!"

          "Huh?" Tidus snapped out of his little daydream-world.

          "Never mind."

          Turning to Rikku, Tidus asked, "Hey, you get the license number on Seymour's car?"

          "Sure did, sweetheart," she said dryly. "I had to pretend to be looking for a quarter for almost twenty minutes, but I finally found it. It's a green Passat. License number BHV-562. Or that one, right across the parking lot." She pointed out a car that was badly parked, nearly taking up the space next to it as well as the one that the front part of it was parked in.

          "Okay. Rikku, you keep watch…" Tidus said, as he and Wakka went to work on Seymour's car.

          Yuna sat in the art room at a potter's wheel, wearing an apron and with a towel draped across her lap, up to her elbows in clay. She really wondered what it was Tidus had planned. She just hoped that he wouldn't get caught, because then Seymour would do something absolutely sinister. She shivered at the thought.

          _Tidus…_ her mind wandered back to her makeshift boyfriend. He was just doing this to be nice to her, she was certain, but she was still drawn to him. He made her stomach turn into a flutter of moths and her mouth go dry and her heart pound in her throat.

          Why though? It was all just an act. It meant nothing. At least, to _him_ she knew it meant nothing but she wished very much that he were her real boyfriend. She sighed and went back to work.

          She didn't see him during first period at all. When second period rolled around, she noticed that Seymour was not in the room. What more or less worried her, though, was Tidus. He was sitting in his seat looking _quite_ pleased with himself, feet stretched out underneath Yuna's desk in front of him. He even winked at her as she passed him.

          "What did you do?" She asked him, leaning over to him so far that only he could hear her. Her nose was nestled in his hair right near his ear and both could feel their faces heating up.

          "You'll see," he answered. The door slammed open a second later, and Seymour, facial veins throbbing, stormed in.

          "Something wrong, sir?" A brave kid asked.

          _"My car is in the parking lot, up on cinderblocks!"_ He roared. Several people laughed. "And it _isn't funny!"_ He banged his fist on the table. He seethed. "A student did this, I _know it!"_ He hissed. "And I _will_ find out who it was!"

          Tidus was beginning to feel a little on edge. Weren't there security cameras around the school? In Zanarkand, students pulled pranks like this all the time, and while it _annoyed _teachers, it never actually pushed them like this. He kept his cool, though, and his face didn't give away his guilt. He felt something tap his bare knee: Yuna's hand was dropped to the side, a slip of paper, a note, between her fingers. He took it and read it.

          _"I bet I know who did it…"_ the note read. He leaned forward.

          "Bite your tongue, Yuna," he whispered. "Or better yet, let me do it." She felt her cheeks get warm.

          Tidus noticed with a sudden swell of cockiness that Seymour looked like he was going to combust right there in the middle of the classroom from the idea of someone _else_ having gotten at Yuna before he got the chance to. Which brought him to a current plan…

          Suppose Yuna merely _pretended_ to be defeated? What if she pretended to have given up and agreed to go live with Seymour, under the condition that she could finish school. They could use the excuse that it would look awfully suspicious if she left in the middle of the year. That excuse, if he bought it, would win them a little extra time before they had to act. They would need physical evidence of Yuna's confrontations with Seymour, though. Tape recordings and things would help but they didn't count as physical evidence. Videotape might qualify. If he could find one small enough to fit in her backpack or even on a medallion around her neck, it would be in the perfect position to capture him. But would Yuna go for his idea? What if they didn't make it in time? He didn't want to think about that right now.

          "Tidus Reina!" Seymour's oily voice broke his thoughts.

          "Yo," he casually looked up.

          Smirking, thinking that he'd finally gotten the best of Tidus, Seymour asked, "Do you care to tell us the dominant religion of the first civilization in Ancient Northern Spira?"

          "Druidism," he said. This one he knew, because Auron was obsessive over anything involving the Ancient civilizations. Consequently, some of the interest in it had rubbed off on him, but he more liked blowing things up and kicking blitzballs around the back yard, now that they _had _one. That and a trampoline.

          Seymour narrowed his eyes, now _extremely_ angry that he hadn't nailed Tidus with something he didn't know.

          "Anything else?"

          "What was their primary sacrifice?"

          "Human sacrifices."

          "Language?"

          "Gaelic."

          "Can you speak it?"

          "No."

          That made the older man feel a little better. He scribbled something down in his notebook and went back to talking to the class about the conquering of Northern Spira by the Romans.

          Finally, the merciful bell that signaled their freedom rang and students immediately made a mad dash for the door, sometimes three or more trying to get out at the same time. Yuna had a strategy to stay seated until most of the crowd had thinned. He waited for her, like he had been doing for the last two weeks.

          "Miss Bamarre?" Seymour said, looking at Tidus briefly. "May I speak with you? Privately?"

          Yuna swallowed hard. She pulled Tidus to her level and whispered in his ear, _"Mira a mi de la ventana."_ ["Watch me through the window."]

          "Okay." He waited just out of Seymour's line of vision, watching through the window. He took out his cell phone to make an announcement over the PA if he got bored waiting.

          Inside, Yuna stood her ground firmly, grasping her heavy backpack—her only weapon if he decided to make a move. Tidus could see them and would probably come in, but he was further from her than Seymour was, and she didn't like taking chances.

          "You really like that one, don't you?" He asked slyly.

          "What?"

          "Reina," he said. "You're dating him, are you not?"

          "Yes."

          "You must like him, then, don't you?" He prodded.

          Deciding that this was _not_ a time to take chances, Yuna answered slowly, "Yes… I do. Why?"

          "Well, you haven't forgotten our little bargain, have you?" He asked, oily voice dripping with smugness. "You drop school and come live with me, and no one finds out about your little secret?"

          Yuna winced to give the appearance that she had no plans to oppose him. "I—I haven't forgotten," she said softly.

          "If I were you, I would dump him and come to me."

          "Why?" She asked sharply. Then she covered her mouth.

          "You're a beautiful young woman. Do you truly think he'd do right by you?" He asked, reaching for her.

          "Better than you!" She yelled, finally snapping. She backed away from him, and he advanced and made a grab for herm digging his long fingers into the soft flesh right over her right breast. She yelped, and leaned down, clamping her teeth down so hard that she heard bones crunching. Then she ran. She made a tumbled out the door and landed smack into Tidus, who managed to keep his balance. Yuna slid to her knees on the floor, pulled herself up, and leaned against the lockers right next to Seymour's classroom. Her stomach lurched and her throat felt like a square knot. His taste lingered on her teeth from where she'd bitten him and she could still feels his fingers digging into her flesh.

          "Yuna?" His hand rested gently on her shoulder. She wriggled away from it, her face rapidly losing it's coloring. "Yuna, say something. Make some kind of sound. Anything! Even a little gurgling noise."

          "Did you _see any of that?"_ She hissed. She didn't want to talk too much because she was worried she might vomit right here in the hallway—or worse, on Tidus. She'd already nearly puked on him once on Halloween.

          "You gonna hurl again?" He asked. He saw her eyes harden, and her eyebrows go knit together. She sniffled and held herself tall.

          "No," she said in a soft, deadly sort of voice. He wouldn't make her feel helpless. "No more. Not again. I hate him. He can't get away with this forever!" Her hands at her sides balled into trembling fists. She just wanted to _hit_ something now.

          "Oh, no," he knew that look. "Yuna, please, throw up, yell, scream, cry, but whatever you do don't hit—"

          WHAM.

          Too late. She'd rammed her fist against the painted cinderblock wall. She hadn't done it hard enough to break the skin but she had most definitely cracked a bone in her knuckles somewhere.

          "Congratulations," Tidus said, taking her injured hand gently in his. "You've just turned your right hand into a maraca." He sighed. "If I stand in front of you, can you do that healing thing on it?"

          "Yes. It's harder to do on myself, though. It might not heal all the way, but it'll just have to do until I can try harder. I don't do my best work when I'm rushed."

          Yuna's White Magic fascinated him, but she had used it so rarely that it was still mostly a mystery. Maybe sometime he could get her to show him everything she knew. He heard her grunt slightly as the bones popped back into place. Her Cure spell wouldn't work on the bruises over her breast that Seymour had left when he grabbed at her.

          "Tidus, am I bruised up?" She asked quietly, lowering that part of her shirt as much as she could at the neckline. Carefully, he glanced over at her, not wanting to look at anything _else_ lest the state of some anatomy change.

          "Yea, a little," he told her. "If you want an excuse to skip class, go to the nurse. Tell her… I dunno, tell her you got into a fight with your backpack strap or something."

          "Thanks," she smiled wryly. The bell rang, and they were now both late for class. "Damn, not again…" she mumbled.

          "Hey, don't sweat it, I think I'm already losing credit in Spiran Lit. anyway." He kissed her cheek quickly before making a mad dash for the stairwell. She heard him slip and fall, get back up, and charge up the two flights of stairs to the top floor of the school.

          She began to head towards the nurse when she stopped dead in her tracks and touched the still-tingling place on her cheek where he'd kissed her. Was that just wishful thinking? There was no one around to act in front of… so why had he done it?

          Was this becoming more than just an act?

                                                                                                    ~*~

WOW. Okay, there was originally supposed to be Christmas/Hanukkah in this chappy, but it's already SEVEN PAGES LONG and it would have been overkill. Severe overkill. So I'm posting the rest of this chapter in another chapter called, "A Time To Give, A Time To Receive," which is a line from a song. Anyway. It's late now and I'm tired, so I'll just post and sign off. Please review and I PROMISE to all of my KH fans, there WILL be an update for HDILT eventually. I'm just breaking from that fic for now. But if you review this one I might just get started on that one! Hehe. And don't worry, I have the next chapter mapped out. Yuna's gonna do something good. ^_~ Adios, my darlings!         


	12. Turn, Turn, Turn

Okay, I told you it would get posted soon. I'm writing, I promise! But curse my education for getting in the way all of the time. Bah Humbug! Well, just know that if I didn't have to get my ass out of bed and go to school tomorrow, I would be up until well after three in the morning to write and _finish_ this chapter. But since I have it all planned out, I might be done in just a couple of days, so who knows? Okay, okay, you can stop throwing books at the computer screen. I'm writing, I swear…

I do not own Final Fantasy X or any characters thereof. Now leave me the heck alone before I pummel you into the floor.

                                                                                                         ~*~

Chapter 11

Turn, Turn, Turn

Lunch proved to be its' usual chaotic state. Yuna and Rikku sat at their normal table away from everyone else. They usually sat outside in the courtyard with Lulu, but the cold weather made them decide to eat _indoors_ today. Lulu had also taken to sitting with Wakka, leaving her two friends feeling somewhat abandoned.

          Yuna sad slumped over in her seat, leaning her entire backside over the back of her stool and gripping the edge of the stool with her hands between her legs. Anyone watching her would think she was a contortionist but she found it a rather comfortable way to stretch her legs and stay seated at the same time.

          "I never really thought of Lu as a person to ditch her friends for a guy," Rikku said with a heavy sigh. "But then again… this one's high-maintenance."

          _"Lulu_ is high-maintenance?" Yuna asked, astonished. Lulu was very undemanding and didn't require very much attention, although, Yuna decided, in a relationship she might be skittish since she was so unsure of herself. She would probably need a little reassurance that she was loved.

          "Actually, I was thinking Wakka was," she said, glancing over to where they were hunched over a book together and talking back and forth. "Gonna take a lot of work to make that relationship go. Yevon Catholic and a BlackMage. It's like oil and water."

          Yuna nodded, then glanced over. She could kind of tell what they were saying by watching their lips, since she could connect words with movements of the mouth. It was something Kimahri had taught her at a young age along with tracking and hunting skills. After a moment, both Wakka and Lulu noticed her watching them. She saw Lulu lean into him and say something. Yuna could just barely make it out.

          _"Don't worry—from that angle they can't see under the table."_

          Curious, Yuna pretended to pick up something off of the floor in order to catch a glimpse of exactly what was going _on_ under the table. Both of their hands were resting on Lulu's knee and they hands were interlocked. Yuna let out a quiet little squeak.

          "What, Yunie?" Rikku asked. "What? Tell me."

          "Lulu and Wakka are over there holding hands underneath the table!" She squeaked quetly.

          "Who'd'a thunk?" Someone behind them said. Yuna almost jumped over the table. But she knew that voice: Tidus.

          Since the Blitz season was over, the team was no longer grouped together at the lunch period with their cheerleaders. Instead they'd dispersed back to their normal herds and Tidus was left to wander since he still didn't get along great with the other members of the team.

          "Mind if I sit down? Datto is over there giving me the Evil Eye," he said, pointing to a guy from the Blitz team who was glaring evilly at him. Yuna nodded.

          "It's all right with me."

          Motioning towards Lulu and Wakka seated together, and alone, he enquired, "What're they up to?"

          "Holding hands under the table," Rikku giggled. "Isn't it way cute?"

          _"Them?"_ Tidus gasped. "But—isn't Lulu a BlackMage?" He scratched his head, confused. "Yea, you told me she is… right? Or am I crazy?"

          "Could be both," Rikku suggested. "Anyway, Lulu's a BlackMage. It's confusing _us_ too. I coulda sworn he would rather swallow his own sneakers than associate with something so blasphemous as a BlackMage."

          Tidus bit his lip to keep from sniggering. He kind of thought that, too. "Ah, cheer up. In three days, we get the hell outta here for Winter Break, That's _something,_ right?"

          Yuna nodded. She was still slightly agonizing over Christmas, since she wanted to get him something but she hadn't the slightest idea _what._ What she considered giving him was something Ronso-made. Her room was full of things that the Ronsos had given her but that she doubted she would ever use: countless pouches, bone carvings, beaded and shell jewelry, woven blankets… every imaginable piece of goods. He might like something like that.

          Tidus, too, agonized over what to get for Yuna. Unlike her, he did _not_ have exotic goods laying about his house. He thought on this for the rest of the day, and for the rest of the next day, too. He wandered into his house after school to find a wet and disgruntled Auron at the top of the stairs, glaring daggers down at him.

          "I haven't been home all day, so whatever went wrong is probably your fault, not mine," Tidus said casually.

          "That stupid cat isn't letting me into my bathroom _again!"_ He hollered. "She hasn't let me in there in two weeks and I _hate_ having to use _your _bathroom! You keep dirty magazines on the countertop!"

          "The swimsuit issues of 'Sports Illustrated' isn't exactly 'dirty,' Auron."

          "It is when every one is there from the last _five years!"_ He sighed, exasperated. "Look, if something doesn't get done with that cat, she's gonna have to go."

          Tidus sighed. "All right, I'll go upstairs and see what's up, okay?" Before Auron answered, he bolted up the stairs and into his bathroom. As Auron said, Gadget was upstairs, sitting at the bathroom door as soon as she heard him coming. She hissed a little but when she saw it wasn't Auron come with the intention of turning the shower on, she mellowed down and disappeared back into the bathroom. Now very curious, Tidus peeked into the bathroom and saw the tabby leap into the shower and close the curtain with her teeth.

          "Whatcha hiding in there, Gadget?" He asked, carefully going over to inspect. He really had no idea what she was up to until he pulled back the curtain and saw Gadget standing over four kittens. "Whoa! Gadget! When did you have these?" He asked, as if she could answer.

          Two brave kittens got up and tried to climb up the sides of the shower to get to him, to see who he was and if he was edible. Three of the kittens were tabby and one was solid black. He had no idea who the father of these kittens could be, since Ace was fixed and they weren't outside cats. He shook his head. Cats were just like that.

          He noticed a fifth kitten after the other two had gotten up to come and see him. This one was a calico, and very small—the runt of the small litter. He reached over to pick it up, and suddenly had an idea. Christmas was in a few days, and these kittens had to be at least five weeks old, if not older. Even though Yuna had a dog the size of a small station wagon, she could probably take in a kitten…

Yuna walked into her favorite little restaurant after work on Friday night. It was the last day of school that day and she was glad that they would have two and some odd weeks to sleep in and not go to school. For her that meant no work, no teachers, no projects—and no Seymour. And there was always Tidus she could look forward to. They'd been bumping into each other _everywhere_ over the last few weeks. At movies, outside of the art supply place where she worked, on the beach, in the park, and even sometimes outside of her house. She knew that they weren't all coincidence, but she _did_ wonder how he always knew where she would be.

          She sat down at a table and ordered a chocolate shake and began to read her book that she'd brought along. She loved this place. It was so small and homey and there were old magazine and newspaper articles hanging up all over the place, old fliers, posters, movie advertisements, and even one of her paintings covering the walls. Some of the clippings and fliers dated sixty or more years old. People just donated them for the restaurant to hang on the walls.

          She looked around the place every so often, just to keep an eye on the time. She found out that Brother was cooking dinner tonight so she volunteered to do extra work, and conveniently arrive home late after getting some real food here before she went and subjected herself to the smell of Brother's cooking skills. Or lack thereof. When she looked up again, she saw a familiar figure.

          _"Tidus?"_ She looked over at the booth two spots away from hers. The man standing there turned about, startled. It was, in fact, who she thought it was.

          "Hey, Yuna," he said quietly, sounding a little embarrassed. She wondered briefly why he was—after all, he'd probably planned _this_ little rendezvous, as well.

          "What're you doing here?" She asked.

          "I work here."

          This surprised her. She didn't know that he worked here. She came here a _lot_ and she hadn't seen him. Maybe it was because of her timing, and she'd only come on the days that he hadn't been there.

          "Hey, Reina!" Someone yelled to Tidus from the kitchen. "I'm not payin' you to stand around and talk! Get in here and help me out!"

          "I gotta run," he said quickly, then looked at his watch. "My shift ends in fifteen minutes. Think you'll still be here then?" He sounded hopeful.

          She honestly knew that she probably wouldn't be there, but she decided to be nice anyway. "For you? Sure." She smiled a little and he grinned back before disappearing into the kitchen. Sure enough, in fifteen minutes Tidus wandered up to her table in his normal garb and carrying a small duffel bag over one shoulder.

          "Hey," he said casually. "Mind if I sit down?"

          "Go ahead," she told him, poking at her mostly-melted milkshake with a straw. She'd been so absorbed in reading her book and daydreaming about him that she'd let it turn into chocolate milk. "So when'd you start working here, anyways?" She asked. "I'm here all the time and I've never seen you before."

          "A while… since August. Maybe we're just on different schedules," he suggested with a shrug.

          "Maybe. I'm usually here after work when I work late on Fridays and Saturdays and sometimes Tuesdays."

          "See, I'm in here Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays," he said. "Maybe I'll see about getting says shuffled so we bump into each other a little more often?" He suggested. Yuna rolled her eyes.

          "I've bumped into you more times in the last few weeks than I have anyone else in the last few _months,"_ she told him. She wasn't really bitter about it, just confused. She thought that he was merely _playing_ the part of her boyfriend in school so that Seymour would let her be, which turned out not to work all that well after all. But he was putting on this "act" everywhere, even when they were alone, or just with Rikku and Lulu, who already knew of their arrangement. He didn't _have_ to put up the act with them and she had no idea why he would sit there with his arm around her if he didn't really _have_ to.

          "So why'd you make a special trip today? You get stuck working overtime or something?" He asked, poking at the ice piled in his soda with a straw. He really wasn't hungry because he'd spent all night pilfering scraps in the kitchen. But he _was_ thirsty and at least he wouldn't be sitting there like an idiot with nothing to do.

          "I volunteered for overtime," she admitted. "It's Brother's night to cook. I shudder to think what's he's done to the kitchen. If there still _is_ one when I get back…" She shuddered. The glanced at her watch and her eyes went wide. "Aw, crud, it's after eight. I gotta get home before Brother calls the police and says I was kidnapped."

          "I should go, too," Tidus said, getting up. They both left separate tabs for their food and walked out into the cool night air. Even though it was the end of December, the air was still heavy and humid, but was quite cold. Yuna had traded her fur-lined denim jacket for a black suede one that fastened up the front with both a zipper and a handful of metal rings.

          "How'd you get here?" She asked him, pulling her helmet from her bag. "I don't see your car. Did your guardian drive you?"

          "Nah. He took away my car keys again and I hadda take a bus."

          There was a pause.

          "Buses here are pretty unreliable," she told him, holding her helmet under her arm and against her hip. She chewed a little on her lower lip, thinking something over in her mind. "If you can fit into a helmet I can give you a ride home," she offered.

          "You serious?" He asked. He'd kind of been hoping he'd get to ride on her bike sometime. He always thought motorcycles were chick magnets but now that he kind of already _had_ a girl, he found it ironic that he drove the little Beetle and she drove a motorbike.

          "Sure. If you can't fit into one, though, I won't drive you. I can wait with you until the bus comes but I won't drive you."

          "Done deal."

          She made her way to her bike and tossed him a helmet. "That's mine but it might fit you. It's a little big on me." She dug into her bag for Rikku's helmet, which she had forgotten to give back. It was bright purple, which suited her just fine. She just figured that Tidus wouldn't be caught dead in a purple helmet so she gave him her black one instead.

          Mercifully, the helmet fit him and he didn't have to cram it on like he feared. He was determined to fit into it anyway, no matter what, since he was _not_ about to pass up an opportunity like this, which would probably never _ever_ come again.

          "You ready?" She asked, sitting up on the front of the bike and letting him settle behind her. "Whatever you do, don't throw your weight. You most definitely weigh more than I do, so the bike might tip." She glanced back at him but she couldn't see through the tint of the visor. "Got that?"

          "Yep. Lets get a move on!"

          The bike sped off down the street into the night.

          Because of the noise and the helmets, they didn't talk on the ride, so both had that time to think. Tidus was leaning slightly forward on Yuna's back, his arms around her waist to keep from flying off of the back, although in reality Yuna was not really a good anchor. Yuna felt her skin grow goose bumps that she was pretty sure he could feel right through her jacket. How and _why_ was he doing this to her? There was no denying her feelings for him—at least not to herself. She wouldn't say them out loud no matter what happened. Meanwhile, Tidus was trying to decide how he would _get_ Yuna to admit that she liked him. He'd seen that look in her eye in just about every romantic tragedy he'd ever seen. She figured that he wouldn't like her even though he had all but blatantly _told her_—

          The bike rolled to a stop at the end of the driveway. A light was on at the bottom floor so he knew that Auron was definitely home.

          "Thanks for the ride," he said, and began to dismount. Yun turned herself 180 degrees and sat facing him without her helmet. He gulped. He'd seen the look that was in her eyes _now_ in movies, too. In just about every Hitchcock film in existence.

          "Tidus, what are you playing at?" She asked him soundly, not wasting any time. "What's this all about, hm?"

          "What's _what_ all about?" He asked her.

          "Are you just acting? Or are we actually going out?" She snapped.

          There was quite a pause there, and out of the corner of his eye, Tidus saw Auron looking out of the front window. He sighed.

          "I… I guess we're actually going out," he replied. Then he added in a timid little voice, "Please?"

          Yuna raised her eyebrows. He was actually serious about this, wasn't he? A slow smile spread across her lips.

          "Okay," she said. She gave him a peck on the cheek before he got off of the bike and headed for his front door. When he turned back to wave to her, she'd already left and sped down to road towards her own house.

          "Tidus, were you just kissing another _guy_ out there?" Auron snapped the second he closed the door.

          "Whatever happened to, '_Hello,_ were you just kissing another guy out there'?" Tidus asked with some humor. After that little talk with Yuna, there was nothing that could ruin his mood. "And no, it wasn't a guy. It was a girl. She gave me a ride home."

          "_On a bike?"_ He asked.

          "Yea." He sighed. Auron _really_ had a thing against homosexuality. "Look, I'm straight. Nothing to worry about, okay?" He rolled his eyes.

          "All right…" Auron said.

          He paused. He needed a little advice and he was pretty desperate… desperate enough to ask Auron for advice. He didn't want Rikku or Lulu, but _especially_ Rikku finding out that he had practically _begged_ Yuna to go out with him. She would probably spread it to half of the school.

          "Hey, Auron?"

          "Hm?"

          "I gotta ask you something," he winced for Auron's sure-to-come cynical comment.

          "You need _my_ advice? Does this have something to do with that girl you asked to the Homecoming dance and the one that drove you home?"

          "It's the same girl."

          "Then what's the problem?"

          "How do I go out with someone, but keep it… well… quiet?"

          Auron actually looked him right in the eye for his answer. "You're asking the wrong man," he said flatly. "The first time a girl said she'd go out with me, I announced it to the school over the PA and wrote her name on my bicep with a blue marker." He paused. "Of course, it wasn't for another two and a half years that a girl would _actually_ go out with me…"

          Tidus sighed. So much for _that_ idea. He'd probably have to just keep it quiet on his own, because he _really_ didn't need the insane amount of attention that fell upon most couples at the school and he knew Yuna wouldn't want it either.

Yuna sat on her front steps with a box in a her lap, waiting for Tidus to arrive. He'd called her a few minutes earlier, telling her that he had something to give her and that she should wait for him so that he could get his car keys from Auron. Butterflies swarmed her stomach and she felt a mix of excitement and nervousness. She decided to wait outside instead of just inside the front door because Rikku had gotten a note from Gippal telling her to turn to one of the local stations at 4:30 pm. Yuna glanced at her watch when she heard her cousin squealing inside the house. Her watch read 11:56 am. She sighed. It was going to be quite a long day.

          Tidus, meanwhile, was sick of waiting for Auron to get out of bed. He'd been out until very early in the morning at work working overtime, and was exhausted, so he couldn't get his keys back. Finally, he crept into his guardians' room and stood at the foot of his bed.

          "Auron?" He whispered. Auron only made a grumbling noise and rolled onto his stomach. He tried again. "Hey, Auron?"

          Auron wasn't completely awake nor did he seem to know what was going on. "All right, get dressed," he muttered. "I'll drive you home."

          _"Auron!"_ Tidus covered his ears with his hands and closed his eyes, trying to rid his mind of the image that was beginning to form. "Auron. It's me! Tidus!"

          "Tidus?" He groaned and grabbed his pillow, tossing it at him. "Do me a favor and drive this lady home. The keys to your car are in my jacket pocket. The one in the sleeve. And don't slam the door on your way out."

          Having found out what he wanted to begin with, he grabbed his keys and a shoebox with some scuffling coming from inside and left to go see Yuna. He was out a little later than he'd wanted to be, but at least he got his keys back. When he reached Yuna's house, he saw her sitting on her front porch with her dog, looking around the corner with a worried look on her face. She probably figured he'd stood her up.

          "Hey, Yuna!" He called from his car window. When she looked his way, she smiled warmly and relief washed over her face. So he _hadn't_ stood her up after all. She shoved Ursa back into the house so that she wouldn't bowl him over when he got out of the car. Instead the dog sat at the screen door, crying pitifully like she'd just been abandoned.

          "Hello," she said shyly. She was unsure how to act around him, now that their "dating" was no longer an act. She had the box tucked under one arm and noticed he was holding a clumsily-wrapped shoebox with a few holes poked in the top. She tilted her head slightly to one side as he handed her the box and she handed him his.

          "You'll have to open it now. I don't think it'll wait until Christmas," he said.

          "That's all right… you can open yours, too. I wasn't sure about what to get you. I asked Rikku and she said you'd like it." She held the box Tidus had given her gently in her arms and she could swear she heard something scuffling around inside. Was it _alive?_ He seemed to be waiting for her to open it, so she carefully removed the lid. A tiny calico kitten with big yellow eyes sat inside, a red bow tied around her neck. Her heart melted. "Tidus…" she whispered, picking the little animal up and holding her gently. "Where did…?"

          "My cat had kittens. That one is the runt. The other kittens kept bullying her and I thought that you might like her…" he trailed off, as if uncertain.

          "I don't know what to say…" she whispered, petting the little kitten on the head with two fingers. "Thank you." She watched Tidus as he reached into the box she'd given him and pulled out a Ronso-made soft leather pouch with gray rabbit fur lining the bottom and glass beadwork on the flap. He inspected it with a careful eye. The pouch was on a belt, so he could wear it without looking like he was wearing a ladies' purse. He felt something inside, so he reached in and pulled out a bone carving—half of a bear, standing and looking straight ahead.

          "Thanks, Yuna," he said, putting his free hand around her shoulders and hugging her.

          "I have the other half," she told him, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the other half of the bone-carved bear. The two halves made a whole. "Kimahri gave it to me… a long time ago," she explained. "He told me to give one half of it to someone special." She felt herself blush.

          "Hey, you wanna walk down to the park?" He asked. He could tell right away that that put her at ease.

          "Sure. I'll just tell Rikku where I'm going. Maybe she'll be listening." She stuck her head into the house. "Pypa! Where are you? I'm going to the park. I'll be back later. Ursa's been fed." She doubted very much that her cousin was even listening, but Brother had probably heard her and would relay the message.

          "Yuna, where are you leaving to?" He stood in the doorway, glaring daggers at Tidus.

          "Just to the park. I'll be back later."

          "When?"

          "Just later. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

          "Fine. Be that way!" Brother stormed back into the house. "I try to keep you safe, and you go off with some blond guy! What thanks is that?"

          "He annoys me," Yuna explained. "Just ignore him. He just wants my attention."

          At that time, Wakka was standing in the veterinary hospital where Lulu worked, holding a red book with a ribbon tied around it. He wanted to give it to her personally, but he'd been standing there waiting for her to come for a while, but whenever a receptionist called her from the back she wouldn't come. Finally, the receptionist at the desk turned to him.

          "Look, if you just leave that here, I can give it to her when she comes back. She must be busy right now or she'd've come."

          Wakka sighed and looked down at his feet. He'd hoped to be able to give this to her himself, but obviously that wouldn't happen. "All right. Tell her… just tell her Wakka came by, okay?" He left the book on the tabletop and left the building. The receptionist took it and put it on her desk before going back to her computer.

          "I really hate kennel duty," Lulu said, coming in from the back. She wore a plain black dress with her lab coat over top of it and her hair tied back into the bun and many braids. "Next time, I'll say I'm doing file work." She sat down at her own desk and went through her papers.

          "Oh, by the way, Lulu, someone came in here a few minutes ago. He wanted me to give you this," the other woman handed over the red leather book. Lulu looked at it, confused, before picking it up. In the red leather cover, picked out in gold lettering, was the title, _A Midsummer Night's Dream._ The pages were lined in gold and the book itself looked quite old. She'd seen this book before in an old bookstore up the street but she would never have bought it for herself because she already owned a copy of _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ and because she never really thought to buy it herself, granted she liked it very much.

          "Who left it?" She asked, untying the ribbon and gently opening the book. A slip of paper fell out into her lap, and she picked it up. The paper read, _"Not because you need it but because you want it."_

          "Some guy. He had funny red hair and a real thick island accent."

          "Wakka?" She asked.

          "That's it. You know him?"

          "I think I'm dating him." She kept the rest of her thought to herself: _I think I love him._

                                                                                                    ~*~

Okay, that really took a lot longer than I would have liked. I'd've gotten this sucker posted on the first day of spring break, honest! But you see… Thursday night I went into the hospital with a kidney stone, which is a very, _very_ long story which ends at about eleven Saturday morning, but… anyway. Here it is now. I'm totally doped up on pain medication because this sucker is _stuck_ in place. I have surgery Wednesday to break it up so after that I'll be able to start on the next chapter. I dunno what I'm going to do after report cards come out though. I'm failing chem. but I've got pretty good grades everywhere else, so I think I can schmooze my way into _not_ getting banned from the computer.

          By the way, I tried not to make Wakka and Lulu have a "Love At First Sight" thing going on, but we all know Lulu is was too level headed to believe in that so she'll try and keep her wits about her. But we all know what'll happen in the end, don't we? ^_~        


	13. I Think I Love You

I really have felt brain-dead for the last week or so. I've had to get back into the swing of school in addition to getting better from this stupid stone. And I have to go BACK for a dye-test in two weeks, so I'm really not looking forward to _that!_ Dammit, my IV bruises are _just_ starting to get better, too! But I'm being screamed at by JaguarKitty and also by Deplora (a little) to update this thing, so I guess I have no choice. I've got an idea anyway. I'm so evil. Okay, okay, okay, I'm going. I really am!

Disclaimer: We're sorry, but the action you have requested is no longer serviceable. Please check into the nearest mental hospital and tell them that you are incompetent.

Ch 12:

I Think I Love You

"This is humiliating." Gippal of the Machine Faction leaned against the wall of a closet. He was locked inside, ducking to avoid hitting his head on the coat rack. Rikku leaned against the opposite wall, suppressing a fit of giggles. He glared at her and rubbed his eye underneath the eye patch he always wore. "It isn't funny," he told her.

          "Yes it is," she sniggered. She tried to keep quiet but she couldn't help but laugh at their situation. Now, near mid-January, she had been seeing him as often as possible since Christmas. But with Gippal being famous it was difficult to get any time alone, as groupie Al Bhed girls kept trying to track him down and drag him away. So to remedy their problem, they'd sought refuge in an empty coat closet in an unused hallway. Unfortunately, the door was locked and there was only a keyhole on the outside… consequently, they were trapped.

          "Rikku, we can't stay in here forever," he told her, shifting his head around the metal bar.

          "I know. We gotta get out of here eventually. But… it's funny!" Her shoulders shook as she laughed with her hands over her mouth. "Oh, come on. Loosen up. You gotta laugh, too!"

          Briefly resigned to his fate, Gippal sighed and slumped against the wall. Then he wondered… would he get a reception from his phone in here? It was worth a try…

          "Who're you calling?" Rikku asked as she saw a look of relief come over Gippals' face. He was very glad that he could call for help now.

          "You'll see—hey, Baralai?" He began talking to the person on the other end. "Yea, listen, I got a problem and ya gotta help me. And don't laugh when I tell you what it is, either." Pause. "I'm… locked in a coat closet in the downstairs hallway with Rikku. We can't get out." Then there was a very _long_ pause. Gippal sat with his ear to the phone, his expression going from blank to annoyed and all the way to confused in a matter of seconds.

          "What's the word?" Rikku asked. "Is he gonna help us?"

          "It's really kinda hard to say," Gippal said. "He's still laughing at me."

          "I would be too!"

          "You _are_ laughing at me."

          A few minutes passed, and the doorknob rattled and the closet door swung open. There stood a silver-haired youth wearing long robes and a blue headband. "Gippal, Gippal, we give you books, we give you lectures—why won't you just come out of the closet?" He said in a somewhat paternal-sounding voice.

          "Baralai, if you hadn't just saved my pathetic ass, I would strangle you with your own jockstrap," Gippal snapped, replacing his eye-patch and slipping from the closet before his childhood friend could slam the door on him. "Come on, Rikku, lets get back before everyone gets suspicious."

          "What would they be suspicious of?" She teased. "That we were makin' out in a closet?" She pecked his cheek. "Why would that make you upset? You know it's true…"

          Gippal shook his head and took her by the hand, leading her back to where they had been talking and eating and drinking before they'd made a run for a private place where no one unwanted would snap photographs.

          "By the way, Gippal, you _really_ owe me for this one. I mean you _really, really_ owe me. You called my away from my date with Paine. With _Paine!_ You know how long it took me to get her to say she'd go out with me?"

          "What, a good-lookin' guy like you?"

          "I'm serious!" He snapped.

          "Okay, okay. I'll sing at your wedding, okay?" The blonde Al Bhed offered.

          "You already promised me that. After I saved your butt after you snuck into the girls' bathroom when you were thirteen."

          "Then I'll name my firstborn son after you."

          "You also promised me that. Trampoline, when we were nine."

          "I'll pay you in euphemisms," he tried, getting desperate.

          "You still owe me euphemisms from that tree incident when we were seven."

          "Then you can borrow my car whenever you want."

          "I do that anyway."

          Rikku called back from a stairwell, "You comin', Gippal?"

          "Yea, I'll be right there. Come on, Baralai, your Princess Charming is waiting for you," he tapped his friend on the arm, and ran up the stairs after his girlfriend.

          When they arrived upstairs at the bar, Paine was sitting on a stool with her legs crossed, glancing off out of a window and casually sipping a drink. She was a pretty girl with a sort of classic look about her. She kept her slivery hair cropped short, and her red eyes were piercing. She wore _tall_ black boots, black shorts, and a black halter with a metal skull on the front. Her whole appearance would probably resemble Lulu if she didn't dress so frighteningly. She was also very quiet, and even Rikku hadn't been able to make her open up much over the course of the night.

          "Sorry I was gone a while, Paine," Baralai said in a soft voice, looking _very_ apologetic. "I didn't know I'd be gone so long!"

          "It's all right, I was just beginning to think you'd gotten lost," she said in her own soft, low voice.

          "Ah, come on," Gippal teased. "Is his sense of direction _really_ that bad? I mean just because he can't find his own car in an almost-empty parking lot…" he trailed off, leaving Baralai blushing furiously.

          _"Fro tuh'd fa ku cusafrana da luhdehia fryd fa cdyndat?"_ ["Why don't we go somewhere to continue what we started?"] Rikku asked Gippal, thinking she was fairly safe from being heard.

          _"Damm sa fryd oui cdyndat yht E'mm cuu ypuid vehtehk oui y bmyla du vehecr ed," _Paine said, in perfect Al Bhed. ["Tell me what you started and I'll see about finding you a place to finish it."]

          "You didn't tell me you spoke Al Bhed," Baralai said casually. He'd never heard her speak it before and she never appeared to understand what he and Gippal said privately when she was within earshot. He felt his belly button drop out for the thought of what Paine might have overheard when he and his friend said in Al Bhed.

          "Yes, I know a _lot_ more about you than you think I do, Baralai," Paine said calmly, taking another drink.

          Baralai sat down in the seat next to Paine and began talking softly to her, enough so that Gippal and Rikku wouldn't hear.

          Slightly miffed at being ignored, the two blondes left Baralai and Paine or their own devices, which was apparently just what they wanted in the first place. A few moments later when Rikku went back to pick up her jacket, she found them both sitting on the same bar stool, kissing.

          "You know, your friend and his girlfriend are over there exchanging tonsils," Rikku told him, throwing her jacket over her shoulders as they walked outside into the cold night air. Besaid, despite being an island, tended to get quite cold in the winter because it was further south. She looked up into the sky and noticed that, despite a few patches of stars, the sky was cloudy. Yuna told her earlier that it might snow.

          "Finally," Gippal said, shaking his head and grinning slightly. "Ya know, he's been after her since we were thirteen?"

          "That long?"

          "Yea. And it was _me_ that made him ask her out. He kept talking my ears off about her. Paine this, Paine that, all the time. I told him that if he didn't ask her out, I'd solicit the embarrassing pictures I have of us when we were kids."

          "You've known each other for a real long time, haven't you?" Rikku tilted her head to one side and wrapped herself firmly in her coat. It was beginning to get a little windy.

          "Yep. We grew up together. He's not Al Bhed but his father was a missionary for the Yevonite Church in parts of Bikanel. Eventually he gave it up and Baralai stayed in South Bikanel, where I lived." He stared up into the sky. "That was before the shit hit the fan with the Guado and the Yevonite extremists and they began that little 'police action' near Home."

          Rikku nodded. All of the religious extremists, especially the Guado, hated the Al Bhed with a passion. About ten years ago, conflicts broke out, and eventually it became almost a full-fledged war. "I get it," she patted his arm. "I'm Al Bhed, too, remember?" She forced a smile.

          "It's hard to forget," Gippal said, his mood lightening. "You look too Al Bhed." He kissed her forehead just as the cold wind blew fiercely, making Rikku shiver.

          "What time is it? I gotta be home by eleven."

          "We got twenty minutes," Gippal said. "I'll drive ya home."

          "Won't it leave Baralai stranded?"

          "What's he care? He and Paine are in there giving each other a tonsillectomy."

          Rikku arrived back at home with no time to spare and decided that it would be best if she went right inside and didn't stall outside lest her father, or Brother, or worse, _Yuna__,_ got angry at her.

          "When will I see you again?" She asked just before she opened the door.

          "I'm in town another week, but after that it could be a while," he said with a sigh. "I really gotta take a break. Summer's gonna be busy, but if we schmooze your father maybe you can come with me. You can say you've got a summer job."

          "On the road?"

          "This is your father we're talking about. If you bat your eyes and call him 'Daddy,' you can get anything you want. It's the thing _every_ Al Bhed Princess does to get what she wants."

          "Goodnight, Gippal," Rikku said, turning to open the door.

          "Hey, doesn't Prince Charming get a kiss goodnight?"

          "He will when I find him."

          "Aw, come on, Rikku."

          She turned around again to face him, still standing on the front step which gave her an extra six inches of height. She kissed him softly and would have pulled away, but a hand on the back of her neck kept her in place.

          "Rikku, your lipgloss is smudged," Yuna said upon seeing her cousin walk into the house with a loopy look on her face.

          "I'm in love," the blonde declared, sitting down at the kitchen table where Yuna had a cup of jello. Realization of the time struck her and she frowned. "What are you still doing up?"

          "I couldn't sleep. I just keep thinking," she said, screwing up her face. "But that's not important. What happened with Gippal? You say you love him?"

          "Sure I do," Rikku giggled. "I think it's destiny."

          "People who believe in destiny have very little imagination."

          "Who rained on your parade?" She snapped. When Yuna did not answer, she asked carefully, "Was it Seymour?"

          Bicolored eyes watered and she looked down into her half-eaten jello, her appetite suddenly diminishing. "I'm so mad. I can't _believe_ he made a grab at me last month. It's just… how _dare_ he? How fucking _dare he even try it?"_ She clenched her fist. "No one's gonna believe me if I tell 'em."

          "You know, sexual abuse is taken real seriously. I think they'd even believe it if you said a _priest_ was doing it."

          Yuna wrinkled her nose. "You're right. But who would I tell? Seymour's a respected man."

          "What about Auron?"

          "What would he do?"

          "Doesn't he work for the police?" She asked. "And he hasn't lived here all that long so he probably doesn't respect Seymour like other people do."

          There was a pause. Yuna was deep in thought, from the look on her face and the way she was chewing on her lower lip. "You really think it'd work?"

          "Maybe. But who would it _hurt_ by telling him?"

          "Me, for starters. What if he doesn't believe me?"

          "But _what_ if he _does?_ Think about it! He could put this whole thing out of your way!"

          "What if I have to go to court?"

          "What if? It'll be worth it to get Seymour off of your back, wouldn't it?"

          There was a very long pause as Yuna assessed her options. She could stay on her feet and fight back, or she could back down and be the little mouse that she'd always been. "You know, Rikku, you're not just another pretty face," she said, giving her a quick hug.

          "Yunie, you're gonna do it?"

          "Yes, just as soon as I get the guts to say something."

          "Yunie—"

          "Okay, okay! Soon, I promise."

          "You want me to go with you?"

          "Maybe… I'll think about it." She hugged her cousin again, and dropped her spoon into the sink. "I'm going back to bed. 'Night, Rikku."

"Yunie, Valentines Day is in a week. You and Tidus planning on doing anything?" Rikku walked alongside her cousin from the parking lot to the school. Yuna was beginning to feel extremely annoyed at her cousins' constant poking and prodding into what existed of her love life. The blonde would probably bust out laughing if she found out that they hadn't even kissed yet…

          "No, Pypa, we aren't," she said as calmly as she could manage. "And if you don't stop hanging onto my elbow like that, I'm going to put it somewhere where the sun don't shine. Got it?"

          "Yes, ma'am," Rikku snorted. "You're such a killjoy, you know that? I bet if you went out on Valentines Day, Tidus wouldn't know _what_ to think!"

          "I know. I don't want to give him a concussion, do I?" She asked sweetly, opening the door and stepping into the heat inside the school. In winter, the heat was _always _on inside the school, even when it wasn't needed.

          "Aw, come on. Be a sport! I hear there's a dance here Valentines Day 'cuz it's a Friday this year," she baited.

          "Rikku, the first and _only_ dance that I went to was Homecoming and that's because Tidus asked me to go with him. And in case you'd forgotten, and certain someone who shall remain nameless really screwed that over for me."

          "Oy vey…" Rikku sighed. "All right, all right. But the least you can do is dress up nice on Valentines Day. You know, kinda like a gift."

          "You'll never stop, will you?" She sighed.

          Since it was colder, the girls had stopped sitting outside while waiting for the first bell to ring and instead sat right inside the door. Lulu was already there, waiting for them.

          "Morning, Lulu," Yuna sat down on the floor with her backpack between her knees. "You have a nice date with Wakka over the weekend?" She asked. "Where'd you go, anyway?"

          "I had to work late," she said slowly. "By the time I finally got out, there was little we could do, so we ended up just going back to my house."

          "Ooh, Lulu! Whatcha do there, huh?" Rikku squealed.

          Lulu sent her a nasty glare. "I never go anywhere without my Moomba. Don't vex me," she said in her this-means-business voice.

          "Really, Lulu, what _did_ you do? Just talk or did you get nervous and watch a movie instead?"

          "Watched a movie. That's all," was the answer.

          "What movie?" Rikku drawled. Lulu sent her another wicked glare. The tone of the blondes' voice suggested that they had been watching something that shouldn't.

          _"Victor-Victoria,"_ she answered. "It's one of my favorites."

          "What? It's one of mine, too. Don't get defensive," Yuna said, planting her fists on her hips as she balanced herself on the balls of her feet in a crouched position on the floor.

          "I am sorry," Lulu said, looking down into her black dress in shame. "I know I've been… less than agreeable since Wakka and I started dating. It's just making me nervous most of the time. And all of those people he's normally with don't like me. They think I'm a witch."

          "You _are_ a witch," Rikku said. "Just not the kind that they think associates with the Devil. You know, like those crazy witch-hunters from four hundred years ago."

          "I didn't make a pact with a Devil. I'm smarter than that."

          "They're just stupid is all," Yuna said. "The only reason they fear Black Magic is because they don't know about it. I bet if they knew a little more, they wouldn't think you were so scary. Or me, for that matter, even though my magic is White Magic."

          "Think the same thing could work for Al Bheds?" Rikku asked with dry humor in her voice. "I bet if they knew the hellhole that is Bikanel now, they'd think otherwise about us."

          "Shh!" Yuna smacked her hand over her cousins' mouth. "Not so loud! I'm serious; there are some _severe_ extremists around here. The only reason they aren't coming after me and Lulu with knives is because they're afraid the Devil will come up out of the ground to avenge the death of his earthly vessel!"

          Rikku moved her head so that she could talk around Yunas' hand. "D'you guyz ftay awake at mights finking about dis kinda shtuff?"

          "We've had many years to think about it, Rikku," Lulu said. "It's the sad truth that around here, unless you're Yevon Catholic, you're considered a Devil's plaything."

          "I like that analogy," Yuna rolled her eyes. A final bell rang and she let go of Rikku so she could get her backpack on and get to class. "I gotta run. I have a fountain to finish and two vases to glaze. Don't expect to see much of me this morning."

          In the art room, Tidus was having an argument with a lump of clay that kept warping no matter what he did with it. Rikku was sitting across from him, absorbed in her own project.

          "You thinkin' of takin' Yunie to the Valentines Dance at school?" She asked after they'd worked in silence for a few minutes.

          "After what happened at Homecoming? Hell, girl, are you _nuts?"_ He smashed the clay with his fist. "Damn, this keeps warping!"

          "Yunie says stoneware does that. Try the red stuff or the white stuff. Or both at once." She sighed, changing the subject from school to personal. "You never take her out anywhere!"

          "Not true. Last week we went to see a movie. And Saturday we took a boat down to the pond in the park."

          "Did it sink?"

          "Like a lead weight." There was a long pause as they both briefly went back to their work. Then Tidus lowered his head and voice, leaning over to whisper, "Hey, Rikku, I gotta ask you something."

          "Whatcha wanna know?"

          There was another hesitation before he asked, "Do you know if Yuna has a favorite song?" He hoped to Yevon, despite his lack of belief in it, that Rikku knew the answer. The girl was in thought for a while before she answered.

          "I'm pretty sure it's, 'I Think I Love You' by David Cassidy. Yea, that's the one. She listens to it all the time. Why you wanna know? You gonna stand under her window and serenade her?"

          "Actually, I had a different idea, but that's not a bad one, though," he said, weighing his options. "Nah, I think I'll stick with my plan. That way everyone will know."

          "Know _what?"_ Rikku asked, beginning to get very worried. Tidus only grinned. "Everyone's gonna know _what?"_ She asked again.

          "Oh, nothing, Rikku. You'll find out eventually," he said. Then he winked.

          "Dammit, Yunie's gonna kill me."

          "Relax. If something happens, tell her it was all my idea."

          "It _is_ your idea!"

          "So no worries, then." Then he winked.

          And so the week dragged on. Thursday surprised them with snow, but it was barely enough to cover the grass. Despite being an island, Besaid got a considerable amount of snow each year. Where Tidus had lived in Zanarkand, the heat of city lights and passing cars and so many people and machines made any snow that fell melt before it could stick.

          Wakka drove his car up to Lulu's front door. He'd told her that he was going to drive her to school since her car didn't do well in the snow. She had agreed, even though the accumulation of snow was barely a few inches. Three at the most. When she came to her door and saw him there, she noticed that he didn't have his things with him.

          "Wakka, where are your things?" She asked. "What's going on here?"

          At this the redhead smiled. "Put that stuff back inside, ya? Grab a purse and lets get a move on. We skippin' school today, ya?"

          "Wakka you can't be serious!" She said, eyes wide. "We'll get caught! We'll get into trouble! We'll—"

          When he took her hand and began to lead her down the steps and to his car, she felt her normally hard resolve melt. There was something about his somewhat goofy goodwill, his overly optimistic nature, and his general demeanor, so opposite of her own, that she found impossible to resist.

          "Lu, please? For me?" He asked.

          The mage sighed heavily. She wanted to. But she didn't relish getting into trouble. It was a difficult choice…

          "Where are we going?" She asked.

          "Wherever the wind may take us," he told her with a wink.

          "Can we… go for a walk in the cemetery?" She asked, immediately wishing that she hadn't asked. What would he think of her, wanting to go into a _cemetery_ on a date?

          "Sure," he shocked her with his answer.

          "You don't mind?" She asked as she belted herself into the front seat of his car. She wondered why he was so calm about it. A Yevon Catholic in a graveyard of his own free will? "Are you _sure_ you don't mind this?" She asked him a second time as they car stopped in front of the cemetery gates.

          "Lulu, I come here all the time," he said. "I come here whenever I need to talk to someone or whenever I have a problem."

          "To whom do you talk?"

          There was a pause again as he thought of an answer. He looked down at his feet then off to the left before he replied, "This is where my brudda and my parents are buried, ya? Whenever I gotta tell someone somethin', I come here an' tell them."

          "That's sweet," she said, placing her hand on his shoulder. Muscles tensed briefly under her hand and he quieted.

          "You think so? Most people would be scared, ya? That I cone here an' talk to the dead?"

          "To each his own. Most people come to a graveyard at night to be scared and tell ghost stories. But during the day… it's peaceful. I don't think of it as death. I just think of them as sleeping. And for most of them, by the time they're buried, they're glad to rest."

          Yuna was very worried. She knew that Seymour would be out of school with a nasty flu today—he'd had to take leave earlier the day before because he fainted dead away in the teachers lounge at his lunch. She had no worries about that. But she had let Rikku talk her into wearing a skirt to _school_ among other things. It was a short one but she balanced it out with her tall boots and knee socks. She stood in the bathroom at school examining her reflection. Black skirt, black boots, black socks, and a blue blouse—she felt so girly it made her sick. But she was resigned—she knew Tidus would like it. Rikku had asked point-blank what he would think if she wore a skirt to school, and Tidus said without smiling that he'd have an orgasm in his shorts and then faint.

          Tidus, meanwhile, was getting set up in a closet where he could make a PA announcement later. He'd caught a glimpse of Yuna as she walked into the building this morning, and he nearly did what he'd told Rikku he'd do if he saw Yuna in a skirt. He couldn't wait for later when he would make his announcement, which Yuna would understand and no one else would. At least, he _hoped._

          Art class was normal that morning. Yuna was busy rolling out long strips of clay, and Tidus sat in the back with her, since all he was doing was glazing a project and making a colossal mess of his hands and shorts.

          "I don't see why you don't wear long pants," Yuna said, adding the strips onto a flat, round surface of clay. "You'll catch your death in pneumonia wearing shorts like that all the time. Pass me that bowl of water please?"

          "You're wearing a skirt—not that I'm complaining or anything!" He said quickly not wanting her to change into something like sweatpants.

          "Tall boots and knee socks balance it out. In reality, just a little leg is showing," she told him, scrunching up her face as she tried to get the sides of her project even.

          "Better than nothing, I guess," he said very quietly.

          "What was that?"

          "Nothing, nothing," he was quick to reassure.

          "Uh-huh…"

          Later on the bell rang to signal the end of first period. Yuna didn't see Tidus heading upstairs to their second class and she began to worry. Whenever he didn't come right away, it meant something was going to happen. He wasn't there for the first five minutes. Then ten minutes. Then twenty. Then half an hour of second period went by and there was _still_ no sign of him and she began to worry. Then there was a sound on the PA like someone was about to make an announcement, but instead of an administrators' voice, she heard a very familiar voice say, "You know who you are, and this is for you." Then the speaker began to sing. And he was very good.

          "I'm sleeping, and right in the middle of a good dream, like all at once I wake up from something that keeps knocking on my brain. Before I go insane, I hold the pillow to my head and spring up in my bed and scream the words I know I dread: 'I think I love you!' Hey, I think I love you, so what am I so afraid of? I'm afraid that I'm not sure of a love that there's no cure for. Hey, I think I love you. Isn't that what life is made of? Though it worries me to say I have never felt this way…"

          Yuna tried her very best not to look surprised. All at once she realized who the voice was, since she knew right off the bad it was not the original David Cassidy version of "I Think I Love You." It was Tidus! How was he doing this? Didn't he care that he'd get into a _lot_ of trouble? Or did he bribe the office? Her head was spinning and suddenly the music stopped and she heard a very quiet four-letter word muttered.

          "Reina, you're in a _shitpot_of trouble!" A voice said, and suddenly the PA was cut off.

          For the remainder of the day, Yuna neither saw nor heard from Tidus. After a while she deduced that he'd gotten an in-school suspension for his stunt but she desperately wanted to thank him for it. No one had ever done something so sweet for her before. He was the only person besides Kimahri, other Ronsos, or her own family members who had shown her any kind of kindness at all. And he kept trying to top himself.

          Even after the final bell rang, there was _no_ sign of Tidus, so Yuna sat down on one of the stone benches outside the exit of the school to wait for him. Rikku soon found her.

          "Yunie, what's up? What're you waiting for?"

          "I want to see Tidus. If you wanna go home, you can take the bike," she offered her keys and Rikku stared at them.

          "My _cousin_ is offering me the services of her _bike?"_ She asked in a genuine shock. Then she decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Okay, but threaten me."

          _"What?"_ Yuna asked.

          "Threaten me! You always threaten me when I borrow your stuff. If you don't I'm gonna wonder if you were abducted! I mean you _always_ threaten me! So please, just to ease my sanity?"

          "If you crash that bike into _anything,_ I will skin you and use you for that new pair of boots you've been telling me to get."

          "That's better." She turned and started for the parking lot. "Bye, Yunie!"

          Time passed, probably close to half an hour, and Yuna began to wonder where Tidus was. Finally, she saw him coming out of the front doors, and as soon as he was out and the door closed, he turned around a flipped the bird to whomever was inside.

          "Son of a bitch," she heard him growl.

          "Tidus?" She said softly. He turned and covered his mouth, ashamed of what he'd said. "What happened?"

          "ISS. Lucky for me it was just one day." He sighed. "I wanted to sing the whole song for you. Rikku said it was your favorite."

          "It is." Now Yuna paused, looking down at her boots. Then she looked up, looked around to see if anyone was watching them, threw her arms about his neck and kissed him.

Finally! Not only have I posted after a month's absence, but I also got into the Tidus-Yuna fluff. I know my summary said that this would have all pairings, but I've decided to have Tidus-Yuna be the main pairing. Please don't attack me. If you really want it I can write another story with other pairs but not until this is done. But I really am going to try very hard to get the next chapter out soon. It'll be Spring Break, and I've been thinking about this one a LOT since I started this story. Okie smokie? Oh, and one more thing—review!

The song "I Think I Love You" is copyright of David Cassidy.         


	14. Truths

Okay, since I'm starting this the very day after I've posted the previous chapter, you probably all love me for that. Also because I pretty much know everything that's gonna happen in this chappy, dialogue, plot, beginning through the end. Wow, that's a first. A lot of the time, I end up makin' it up as I go along. You people are in for a treat because now I actually know what the freak I'm doing. Hehehe. Okie dokie, let me start now. I can't be held accountable for when this thing gets finished, though. Don't hit me. And as a final note, I have to say that the middle bits of this chapter, although both of them are on spring break, will be Tidus-centric so we learn about him that way.

Disclaimer: [The graphic content in this panel has been judged too sarcastic and too undermining to anyone who could possibly take offense from something that is meant to be offensive.]

Chapter 13:

Truths

"I don't believe it, ya? I don' believe it!" Wakka walked back and forth in his room as Tidus sat on the floor, rolling clothes up and putting them into a suitcase. "You go an' sign me up for a trip to Bikanel to stay with some Al Bhed heathens for five days—" suddenly a hand grabbed his shirt collar; Tidus had stood up and was now standing in front of him with a murderous look in his eyes.

          "Wakka, if you say 'Al Bhed heathens' one more time, I'm gonna find a new ball bag for your blitzball." he threatened in a low voice. "And you might just have to have colon surgery to retrieve it."

          "You're _serious,_ aren't you?" He asked, suddenly very scared. "Look, I was jus' lookin' forward to spendin' some time with Lu over spring break, an' now we're off to Bikanel where we might be killed by some kinda ammunition!" He sighed. "I'm sorry, ya? You know I don' like the Al Bhed. Their machina weapons killed Chappu. I can never forgive 'em for that."

          "Wakka, Al Bhed machina weapons are used all over the place. They're exported and sold, they don't know where their weaponry ends up." He rolled up a pair of shorts and stuffed them into the suitcase. "Besides that, the girls are going to Luca. They already signed up for the trip."

          "I know, Lu told me. I hear they got a great blitz team up there, ya? I wanna go see it sometime."

          "We fly over it from the airport out of Kilika," the blonde pointed out. Since Besaid was such a small island, there was no airport. Instead, they would have to take a boat to Kilika, and from there they could take an airship to Bikanel. The trip even by air would take seven hours, and the trip back would be eight because of the time change. The difference in time from Besaid to Bikanel was five hours. Making phonecalls to Yuna in Luca to Bikanel would be difficult.

          Tidus stopped to think now about Yuna. He hadn't spoken to her since the previous afternoon because they _both_ had last-minute things to do and suitcases to pack for their trips. Lately, whenever they were alone somewhere together they would never get anything done. Rikku hit the nail on the head when she said they were too busy exchanging tonsils. But they _were_ all driving to the port to get to Kilika the following day, and then their airships out of Kilika-Besaid International were leaving at roughly the same time.

          "You gonna miss Yuna, too, huh?" Wakka asked, stashing a final shirt and pair of shorts into his bag and sitting on it to close it. Five days in the desert didn't seem like a lot but he packed extra clothes in case of emergencies.

          "Yea. I know Seymour's not gonna be anywhere near her because he can't speak Spanish or French, so he won't have any way to communicate with the people in Luca. But I just don't like the thought of not being around her." He sighed. He'd grown more attached the Yuna in the time they'd been dating than he had to any girl he'd ever dated.

          "I just thought 'a somethin', ya?" Wakka said suddenly, getting up off of his suitcase. "We don' speak Al Bhed. How're we gonna get along over there?"

          "Ah, don't sweat it. We'll be stationed in a camp miles from where all the shit's happening. They help the locals since the villages nearby aren't like the cities and the Al Bhed Home where most of the people live now. A lot of them still live in little isolated villages, which is why it's hard for them sometimes to fight off the Guado."

          "They speak Common up there?"

          "You betcha."

          "Okay, then I can live with that."

          Tidus took another look at the bag that Wakka had packed. He'd rolled all of his own clothing up tightly and managed to fit it all into a duffel bag, plus things that he was bringing on the airship with him in a backpack. He'd always known that it was best to have a carry-on bag in case he got separated from his suitcase on the trip, granted he could probably fit the duffel with him on the ship instead of in the baggage compartment.

          "Why'd you pack so much? It's not like we'll be gone that long. Plus we'll have another week here with the girls once we get back. Spring break is twelve days long and we'll only be gone for five."

          "Yea, another week with Lu," he sighed. "Dunno what we're gonna do, though."

          "Me either, but you can probably guess what me and Yuna are gonna end up doing."

          "Brudda, no matter _where_ you guys go, you always end up swappin' spit!"

          Tidus rolled his eyes. "Geez, does _anyone_ around here just call it 'kissing'? I mean Rikku said we were exchanging tonsils, you say swapping spit, Lulu says we're switching tongues—is there _anyone_ who just says 'kissing'?"

          "I dunno. I don't think so."

          "Come on, we gotta get out of here soon! We gotta meet 'em at the port and our boat leaves in just over an hour!"

          "So what? The port ain't that far away, ya? Don' sweat it, Tidus!"

          "Don't we have to go through customs?"

          "Huh?"

          "They check out your bags and make you walk through metal detectors and stuff before they let you board—ah, forget it. You'll know once we get to the airport in Kilika. They always do customs when you fly really far distances. Just get your stuff into my car and we'll get outta here."

          "Why your car? Why not mine? What would the general public think if they saw two guys ridin' around in a little bug car? I mean, dat car is a total _chick car!"_ He said. Tidus rolled his eyes.

          "Okay, we'll take yours."

          "What if someone steals it?"

          "Wakka, decide whose car we're takin' in the next fifteen seconds or I'm gonna have you _swim_ to Kilika!"

          "Fine, we'll take my car," Wakka said. "No one'll steal it anyway. Let's pack up an' get a move on, ya? I can tell you wanna see your Yuna again."

          "Just as much as you wanna see your Lulu again," Tidus snapped back. "You're a bit more tolerant of Yuna now. She growing on you?"

          "I guess just cuz I know more about her now through Lu than I did before. She ain't scary but I'm still scared 'a her cuz she's a witch."

          "The correct term is a 'mage.' And you know Yunas' magic is called 'white magic,' because it all has to do with protection, healing, and restorative properties? _Lulu_ has elemental-controlled magic."

          There was silence as Wakka loaded the bags into the trunk of the car and slammed it shut. "You know, I really _hate_ it when you're right, ya?"

          "Wakka?"

          "Yo."

          "Just get into the damn car!"

          "Okay, okay, don't bite my head off."

          Despite it being spring traveling season, the port was remarkably empty. Yuna, Rikku, and Lulu were already there, holding backpacks and duffel bags and looking at a boat schedule to see when the last possible boat they could take was so that they could get to Kilika-Besaid International on time.

          "Hey, Lu," Wakka greeted his girlfriend first. "Hi Rikku. Yuna."

          "Hiya!" Rikku was the only one to answer. Her cousin and friend were busy looking down at the schedule to work out times.

          "Well, the twelve-fifteen gets to Kilika port at around seven tomorrow morning and our airship leaves the airship dock at ten-thirty. We'll have three hours to blow off before we have to get through customs. We _could_ take the one o'clock boat, and get there at eight-thirty, but then we have to go right to customs and wait for the ship. What do you think, Lulu?" Yuna bit on her fingernails.

          "I think you guys should stop staring at that boat schedule and pay attention to us," Tidus said with an indignant kind of sound. "I mean, we haven't seen each other in an entire day."

          "Tidus, does your airship leave for Bikanel at ten-thirty or eleven?" She asked, completely ignoring him. "We have to figure what boat we should take."

          "Give me that!" He reached over and snatched up the paper from her hands. Now Yuna turned around and shot him a glare.

          "Give it back. If we don't figure which boat we're taking soon, we won't be able to get the tickets."

          "You're no fun when you're serious," he said with a sigh.

          "It's noon now, ya?" Wakka said, reminding them that he was in fact present. "Why don' we just take the twelve-fifteen boat outta here, get to KBI in the morning, have breakfast at the airport, an' from there we can just hang out at the gates until the airships take off?"

          "That'll work, Yunie," Rikku said. "Besides, I don't like running through airports like a madwoman. And since you guys are going to Bikanel, customs is gonna search you longer than us. More thorough searches the further you fly, ya know?"

          "We still have fifteen minutes before the boat leaves. What should we do until then, or does no one care?" Lulu asked, shifting the weight of her bag from one shoulder to the other.

          "You guys can all go find nice, safe coat closets and make out!" Rikku said before breaking out into giggles. Yuna grabbed her hand and crushed her fingers together and her mirth was immediately replaced with pained whimpers.

          "First things first, we need tickets. We'll figure things out from there," she said, picking up her bag. "Ticket office is over there."

          A little while later, tickets were purchased and all five of them were seated at the port, waiting for the boat to begin loading. The departure was scheduled for twelve-fifteen, but they all knew that they would probably be a few minutes late. There were still people rushing to the port and dragging heavy bags or screaming children behind them. Just as long as they stayed in separate places than the screaming children on the ship, they'd all be fine.

          Lulu and Wakka were talking quietly amongst themselves, their voices lost among the other voices in the port. Rikku had taken out here CD player and wasn't listening to anything that anyone was saying to her, and Yuna was leaning gently on Tidus' shoulder.

          "Do you know where you're staying in Bikanel?" She asked.

          "Small camp off of a few villages. It's like a medical facility for the ones who need it when local healers can't do much or _enough,"_ he said. "Like mortar fire and stuff. I figured I needed to teach Wakka a littler tolerance Al Bhed style."

          "You know, Rikku's boyfriend hangs around those camps a lot. Donates much of his salary to them so that they can keep the smaller villages and towns from being wiped out from the Guado and the religious extremists." She sighed. "It's sad. I wish people would stop doing this kind of stuff to each other. You know there's not another animal or fiend on the _planet_ that kills its' own kind? It's one thing to run another herd or pack off of your territory because they're stealing game or mates, but to hunt each other like prey is lower than even a fiend would do."

_          "All passengers boarding Liner 913 leaving from port seventeen at twelve-fifteen please board now."_ The voice over the intercom said in a very bored tone.

          "That's us, guys!" Rikku piped up, grabbing her bags and heading for the ramp that led up to the ship.

          "Come on, we gotta go get her," Yuna said, getting up, stretching, and picking up her own bags.

          "How come? Just let her go ahead."

          "No, I mean, I have her ticket," she said, flashing both tickets. "Come on, before they escort her off the boat."

          Wakka and Lulu had managed to squeeze past the crowds and get onto the boat before the rest of them. They were waiting at the room check because Lulu didn't want to share a room for the night with Wakka. Instead, she asked Yuna if the two of them and Rikku could bunk together, and they readily agreed.

          "Wait a second, you mean you're gonna stick me with Wakka? He snores!" Tidus had a look of false betrayal on his face.

          "So? It's just for one night and we'll see one another on this boat," Yuna said, hefting her bag on her shoulder. "How bad can spending eight hours with him be? Probably not even that, since we have to get up tomorrow morning at quarter-to-seven in the morning."

          "I guess that works," he said. Everyone else went ahead to check into rooms and get bags sorted out, but Tidus and Yuna stayed behind. His voice lowered, suddenly, and he took on a serious tone. "You gonna be all right in Luca by yourself? You know I worry about you."

          "Tidus, I'll be fine. Rikku and Lulu will be with me. Seymour doesn't speak Spanish or French, and between Lulu and me, we'll be able to blend right into the scenery. I'm not worried. He's kept low since December."

          "I know, and that worries me. I think he might be planning something. You know, like waiting for you to let your pants down or something like that," he put his hand on her shoulder and stroked it gently. "I'd go berserk if anything happened to you, you know that."

          At this she hugged him. "Thank you," she whispered. The ships' horn blew, signaling that they were leaving the port soon. It ruined the moment when they both put their hands over their ears. They were standing right beneath the horn.

          "Come, my lady-love," he said in a very posh accent. "I shall escort thee to thy humble chambers."

          "Use all the accents you want—you're _still_ rooming with Wakka!"

          Darkness had fallen. They had all eaten dinner and Tidus, Yuna, Rikku, and Wakka were in one of the rooms trying to play cards. Lulu was outside on the deck, looking up at the stars as the boat passed beneath them. She loved looking at them. They were mysterious, and so faraway. She inhaled the scent of salty seas and night air and closed her eyes.

          "They beautiful, doncha think, ya?" Came a familiar voice. Lulu's eyes snapped open and she looked next to her at Wakka. When had he gotten there? How long had she been standing with her eyes closed?

          "Yes," she answered simply. She looked back up at the stars, lost in them. "People long ago thought that the constellations were put there in memory of heroes, or great monsters that did the gods a service or were especially difficult to defeat," she said. "I know it isn't true, but it's nice to read up on. Just for the story behind it."

          "The only constellations I could ever find were the Big and Little Dippers and Orion, the hunter," he admitted.

          "Yuna hates it when people call them the Big and Little Dipper. She says it's better to call them by their _real_ names."

          "What are they?"

          "Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor," she said. "Big Bear and Little Bear. It's how her dog got her name."

          "I seen that monster dog, ya? How she keep up with somethin' so big? That dog looks like he could snap 'er right in half, ya?"

          "She. Ursa is a girl dog. And she's well-trained. Wouldn't hurt anyone."

          "So what you doin' out here all alone, anyway?" He asked, turning and leaning back against the rail, arms crossed, looking at her.

          "I wanted… I wanted to be alone, I suppose. To clear my head. Something's been eating at my brain for a while and I needed to sort it out."

          "Sorry, I didn't know," he said, pushing himself back upright so that he could leave. "I'll go, ya, if you want me to."

          "No." Lulu quickly reached out and took him by the sleeve of his windbreaker. "Don't go." When she realized the pleading tone in her voice and the most likely pitiful look she had in her eyes, she dropped his arm and looked down at her boots peeking out from beneath her black dress. "Please, stay out here. Some company is nice."

          "I'm privileged, then, ya?"

          "Yes, I suppose." There was then a long pause. Lulu still gazed at the stars and Wakka was in turn gazing at her. "You've been seeing me since Homecoming," she said out of the blue suddenly. "I thought I was a date out of desperation. Was I?"

          Now it was Wakkas' turn for a pause. He said nothing for a few moments, then said, "No. I liked you. I just never said anything. You… you're a… a…" he couldn't spit out the word.

          "A BlackMage. A witch," she supplied for him. "Wakka, there is nothing about magic to be frightened of. Have I ever hurt anyone with magic?" She asked.

          "Not that I know of…" he looked nervous. "It's just… all my life I been told witches were Devil's toys, ya. And it's hard to change it now."

          Instead of answering, Lulu held up a hand. Slowly, a burning ember, the essence of Fire magic, gathered over her palm, growing into the size of a tennis ball and hovering gently over her hand. She held the hand out towards him. "Touch it."

          "What… is it?" He asked, eyes wide with awe and a little bit of fear.

          "Essence of Fire magic," she replied. "It won't hurt you. It can't. I didn't conjure it for that, I made it simply for light and heat." She held her hand out again. "Go ahead. Touch it."

          Tentatively, he reached out, brushing the orb with the tips of his fingers. On contact, he felt warm, like standing in a warm breeze despite the chill of the evening ocean air and the wind produced by the movement of the boat. With his right hand on the side, he reached and used his other hand to cup the glowing orb from the other side. Lulu dropped her hand, letting him hold it. She studied his face as he watched with childlike wonder as the orb floated above his hand.

          "It's hardly frightening, is it?" She said softly. "My magic is called 'Black Magic' simply because traditionally the power of the magical elements—Fire, Water, Ice, and Thunder—were used for battle. I have yet to strike a person with my magic, and I have had total control of it now for many years." On a humorous note, she added, "It works wonders when the power goes out."

          "It's beautiful," he said. "Like I'm holdin' a star." He broke the gaze on the fireball and looked at Lulu, letting his eyes adjust to the sudden darkness. "I wish I could carry it with me, ya know? Just to have while I'm gone the next few days."

          Lulu paused in though, absently digging one hand into her purse. "Maybe you can. I've read on this before—trapping elements of magic in a glass globe. I can try it, and see if it works for you," she offered. She withdrew her hand from the purse and produced a glass ball a little bigger than a golf ball. She made a fist around it as much as she could, and a tiny spot of red began to glow inside of it, growing bigger and bigger and bigger until it finally filled the entire glass ball. Then she handed it over to him, and he turned to leave.

          "Wait, Wakka."

          "Hm?"

          After a second of hesitation, she stood up tall and pecked him on the lips. "Goodnight."

_"Flight 232 out of Kilika-Besaid International to Luca is preparing to board. Fligh 232 to Luca boarding now from gate D15."_ The voice over the intercom announced Yuna. Lulu, and Rikku's flight. Yuna turned away from the source and back to Tidus, who had abandoned Wakka at their own gate to come say goodbye to her.

          "It's only for five days," she said, shifting her hold on her bag. "We'll be back before you know it. And good luck in Bikanel. I know you'll need it." Hesitating, she then dropped her bag and hugged him tightly.

          Jokingly, Tidus grabbed the long braid trailing from the back of her hair. "Maybe if I hold onto this I can get you to come with me," he suggested.

          "No, Tidus. You had a good idea, to teach Wakka a little tolerance Al Bhed style. Stick with it. Rikku told me I needed to get out more. Everything will be fine, don't worry."

          He nodded again, and dropped a quick kiss on her lips. "Here, I finally got a hold of the unit number we're staying at… you know, just in case." He handed her a piece of paper, which read in his unsteady scrawl, _"D.M.A.S 9902-10, Northwest Temuk, Bikanel."_

          "What does 'D.M.A.S' stand for?" She asked, looking quickly towards the doorway that led to her airship. People were boarding now, but Lulu and Rikku were waiting for her.

          "Desert medical aid station," he replied. "Now go on, before you miss your ship and you _have_ to come with me!" He turned her about and gave her a little push and watched her disappear inside the door that went to the airship.

          "So, you two parted company, ya?" Wakka asked as soon as Tidus sat back down at their gate, waiting for their own airship to take them to Bikanel.

          "Yep. I'm gonna miss her," he admitted. "How are you so calm, anyway? I thought you said you'd miss Lulu."

          "I will. But she gave me somethin', ya?" He smiled a little and slouched even more in his seat.

          "Her virginity?"

          _"No!"_ Wakka said very loudly, causing several people at the airport to stare at him. Lowering his voice, he whisper-yelled, "No! Nothin' like that! I swear!"

          "It was a _joke,_ Wakka. What she give you?"

          "I'll show you later, ya?"

          "Wakka—"

          Fortunately, Wakka was rescued when the overhead voice announced that their own airship was leaving for Bikanel in fifteen minutes, and that they had to board.

          "I'll get it outta you, you know that, right?" The blonde said, picking his things up and boarding the airship. He had eight hours on the ship to try, anyway…

          Tidus was more than just slightly disappointed when he found out that all Lulu had given Wakka was a glass globe full of Fire magic. After their argument about it, Tidus managed to fall asleep sitting upright. After an eight-hour-long and excruciatingly boring trip over which they accumulatively had about four hours of sleep, the airship landed. As they reclaimed their bags, the noticed that a muggy, heavy air was blowing in from outside every time someone opened the door.

          "Man, it's gotta be at least ninety degrees out there, ya?" Wakka squinted as he looked out at an expanse of sand outside the airport. "You know where we're goin', ya?"

          "There's a corpsman that's supposed to pick us up outside of baggage claim," Tidus said, grabbing his duffel as it went by on the carousel. Wakka already had his bag, and they made their way out of the doorway from baggage claim. Right off the bat, they knew who they were supposed to go to—there was a man with light silver hair standing near the exit. He was wearing light cotton pants and a long-sleeved shirt that was unbuttoned to reveal an un-dyed cotton t-shirt. His skin was very dark tan and his eyes were dark despite his light hair color.

          "Are you here from Besaid?" He asked in perfectly unaccented Common.

          "Yea… you're a corpsman?" Tidus asked.

          "Yes. My name is Baralai Praetor. You are…?"

          "Tidus Reina," Tidus answered.

          "Wakka Hayden," was Wakkas' reply. He blushed at the sound of his own last name. He's always thought it sounded weird together so when he could avoid it, he didn't say his last name.

          "Right. I've got a jeep and we can be at the 9902-10th in about an hour and a half," Baralai replied.

          "That's a long drive. How far away is it?"

          "Around ninety miles," he said. "If we start now, we can be there by lunch—thought I don't recommend the camps' food. Most of the time, the staff and volunteers will go out and hunt animals to get decent, edible food."

          "Okay, lets' just go," Wakka said. "The sooner we start the sooner we can go home, ya?"

          "I take it he isn't excited about this, is he?" Baralai asked.

          "Not really, no," was the answer. "I figure he needs to learn a little tolerance, Al Bhed style."

          "Wise. Come on, the sooner we leave, the less likely we are to get hit—by _anything."_

          The cryptic message echoed in Tidus' head for a long time. The camp was many miles from the shelling that was taking place near the Al Bhed Home, but were they really in danger? Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all, but there was really no turning back now, was there? They were already about halfway there.

          The flat, empty expanse of desert passed them in a blur of heat. There was no road, but Baralai appeared to know exactly where he was going. Finally, in the distance, there appeared a rather large oasis, surrounded by army-type tents of many sizes. Some of them looked like housing quarters for residents, others looked like meeting houses or mess tents. It grew closer and closer until finally Baralai slowed down and pulled to a stop near one of the tents.

          "You need to go check in," he told them. "Colonel Matz is in there, somewhere. If he isn't, just sign in on the paper. I gotta go sign this jeep back in."

          "You _sure_ we gotta stay here the whole five days?" Wakka asked, wiping a mix of sweat and road grime from his forehead.

          "Yes, we do. If you don't stop complaining, I'll shave your head while you're sleeping."

          "You wouldn't!"

          "Wanna bet?" Tidus opened the door to head into the Colonels' office and collided with another young man, perhaps a little older than him. They struggled for a second, tangled up in each other before both sprung to their feet and stared at one another. The stranger had spiked blonde hair and blue eyes. Tidus noticed uncomfortably that he had an eye patch over the right one.

          "Rao, syh! Cunno!" ["Hey, man! Sorry!"]

          "Wha?" Tidus shook his head, trying to decipher what the young man had said. The only word he knew was "cunno," meaning, "sorry." Rikku had taught him, but not nearly enough and usually only really rude phrases.

          "Oh, you speak Common?" He asked.

          "Yea, apparently you do, too," he said. "Uh, can we check in here?"

          "If you're the guys from Besaid, someone called the camp about half an hour ago and said you were on your way. You've already been signed in and we're bunking you in mine and Baralais' tent. If that's okay with you?"

          "Sure. Can we stop in now and put our stuff down? I'm starting to lose the feeling in my fingers…" Tidus shifted his duffel to the other hand.

          "Sure. Follow me."

          "Tidus?" Wakka said softly as he held his friend back for a second.

          "Yea?"

          "I'm gonna get you back for this if it's the last thing I do, ya!"

Three days. Two long, hot days in a D.M.A.S in Bikanel. They were helping in the hospital and the recovery room with people who had minor ammunition wounds and had been sent to a hospital far away from where all the hell was happening. But today had been extremely quiet. Nothing much went on except that wakka, Tidus, Baralai, and Gippal were bored out of their minds. Over that last few days, because of their close quarters and the fact that they had to be together most of the time, they had become fairly close. Gippal spent much of his free time in camps similar to this one. Most of his paycheck also went to aid stations, relief stations, and refugee camps for the Al Bhed who were forced from their homes due to Yevon extremists.

          "Hey, Gippal?" Tidus asked, shuffling a deck of cards so he could play solitaire again. "Where do you live when you aren't on the road or at camps like this?"

          "Home. The Al Bhed Home, it's near the northeastern shore. Far cry from here. Sometimes I'll fly a small airship here because it's such a trip by jeep or by rail."

          "What do you most miss about there?"

          "Air conditioning," he said, deadpanned face. "Fresh fruits. Real food. Takeout pizza from Vinos' place. 'Course even when I'm there, I miss my girlfriend. She doesn't live here."

          "Well, where's she live?" Wakka asked, laying on his back and tossing a ball up into the air.

          "Besaid. Maybe you know her," Gippal said, a little spark of hope in his eyes. He had since taken off the eye patch because he needed both eyes around here.

          "What's her name, ya? Besaid ain't that big of a place."

          "Rikku," Gippal answered. "Rikku Meinach. Blonde girl with spiral green eyes. Kinda short. Real sweetheart."

          Wakkas' eyes went wide with shock. Cautiously, he asked in a low voice, "Does she know you're Al Bhed?"

          "She _is_ Al Bhed," Gippal said. Tidus squeezed his eyes shut. That was it—cat was out of the bag. Yuna had told him that Rikku was an Al Bhed but she had told him not to tell Wakka.

          "Rikku's Al Bhed?" He asked, losing some of the color in his face except for the tan and burn he'd gotten over the last few days. "No! That's not possible, ya! She can't be Al Bhed, she's a perfectly good girl! She—how did—what—?"

          "Wakka, sit down," Tidus said, pushing down on his shoulder until his friend was forced to sit. "Rikku is Al Bhed. I've know. Yuna told me but she told me not to tell you because she was afraid of… well… this!"

          "What 'this'?"

          "Twenty minutes ago, she was your friend, wasn't she?" Tidus asked.

          "Ya. But then I didn't know that—"

          "What does Al Bhed or non-Al Bhed have to do with anything?" Gippal asked, looking more angry than anything else. "If Rikku was your friend then what does religion have to do with _anything?"_ He glared with murder in his eyes. "Seriously. When she gets back, she's not gonna know that you know that she's Al Bhed and she's gonna try to be all friendly with you like she always is, and then she's not gonna know why you're mad at her and she's gonna beat herself up over it not knowing what's going on. And it's all because of her birth. That's just the stupidest thing I've heard. And I've met a _lot_ of people like that."

          "But she _lied_ to me…" Wakka buried his face in his hands.

          "No, technically you never actually asked, 'Are you Al Bhed,' because she probably would've just told the truth." Tidus had a legitimate point, and Wakka could not argue. When he said nothing, the blonde spoke again. "Wakka, seriously, are you gonna let something so trivial as religion come between a friendship like that?"

          "I don't want to."

          "Then don't let it," Gippal suggested nonchalantly. He'd recovered his normal cool and airy demeanor, letting everything just slide off of him.

          "Besides, what about Lu?" Tidus asked, hitting a soft spot.

          "What _about_ her?" Wakka asked back, going from angry to worried.

          "Who's Lulu?" Gippal asked.

          "His girlfriend. One hell of a woman but—she's a BlackMage."

          At this comment, the Al Bhed fell off of his cot in a fit of hysterical laughter. He clutched his stomach and tears began to form in his eyes as he struggled to get himself under control.

          "You—you're worried about—about Rikku!" He said, trying desperately to breath, talk, and laugh all at once. "But—you're dating a mage! Gawd, that's the funniest damn thing I've ever heard! You know that five hundred years ago, the Al Bhed used to burn witches? Just like you Yevonites? Neither one likes magic and here you are dating a mage and—" he practically wet his pants laughing so hard.

          Baralai walked in through the wooden-framed door to the tent and almost tripped over Gippal. He looked down at his long-time best friend who appeared to be having an apoplexy, and deadpanned, "See, Gippal, I _told_ you that there were some things you hadn't tried yet." To Tidus and Wakka, he asked, "So what actually happened?"

          "Father Teresa over here is dating a BlackMage," Tidus said, going back to the book he was reading before they had begun to talk.

          Baralai made a snorting sound as he tried not to laugh as Gippal was. Finally, the blonde Al Bhed calmed down and sat up, wiping his teary eyes on Baralai's long coat.

          "So what were you talking about before Gippal had a seizure?" Baralai asked, sitting down next to Gippal.

          "Girlfriends," Tidus said. "You have one?"

          Pause. Baralai had to think about that one. "I dunno if I could call her my girlfriend," he admitted. "She could be going out with me because she likes me but it could also be because she feels sorry for me."

          "Where'd you meet her?" Wakka asked.

          "I've known her for years. Her father was a friend of my parents. They worked over here for something but I don't remember what. But we saw each other all the time when we were kids, then she went off to Bevelle for schooling when she was fourteen, and we didn't see each other much after that. Until about six months ago. There was a party at the Home, there was a celebration for something. But I saw her there for the first time in months. And… she was wearing a dress. Paine _never_ wears a dress. But there she was. She came with someone else, though. A guy from the Al Bhed Psyches—the blitz team. But she took one look in my direction, and…" he trailed off.

          "What happened?" Tidus asked.

          "I got down on my knees and _begged_ her to go out with me."

          "Oh, how the mighty have fallen," Gippal said with an eye-roll. "And she's your first real girlfriend, too. The only one that's dated you and not wanted to get to me."

          "No need to rub it in!" He yelled. He hated being so close to Gippal of the Machine Faction. Band members split up when they weren't on the road and they went to different camps, but one thing that every diehard fan knew was that Baralai and Gippal were inseparable. Attached at the hip. Girls often pretended to go after the more vulnerable Baralai to get to their ultimate goal—Gippal.

          "What about you, Tidus? You got a girlfriend?" Gippal asked.

          "Yea. Not my first, though. I feel a little more experienced than you guys are," he said with a cocky grin. Technically, Yuna was the first girlfriend that he had been attracted to for something other than her bust and legs. And she'd lasted longer than three weeks. "Okay, the first girlfriend I actually have feelings for."

          "Shallow," Wakka snapped.

          "I'm not as bad as you think, you know," he said in his own defense. "Just because I was a star in Zanarkand doesn't mean I had no morals and went out getting laid when I was thirteen."

          "You ever gotten laid before?" Gippal asked.

          "Hey, ya, stop talkin' about this! Doesn't _anyone_ wait 'til they get married anymore?" Wakka snapped.

          "Wakka, virginal marriages are rare for _one_ party. Even rarer for both. I mean—who wants to have a wedding night with someone who has no idea what they're doing?" Tidus said, making a legitimate point. "And I'm not answering your question."

          "Why not? Where was your first time? Was it that embarrassing?" The blonde Al Bhed asked.

          After a pause, Tidus decided to answer. "In the back of a pickup truck on top of a pile of smelly old blankets," he said. "Just me and a dirty magazine I swiped from my friend. Truck went through a pothole and I was in heaven."

          _"I meant with a girl, man, not going solo!" _Gippal screamed. "Hell, that's something I don't wanna hear!"

          "Ask and ye shall receive," Baralai said. "Whether you like it or not."

          "Yuna's the only girlfriend I've had who doesn't dress like a slut and isn't a cheerleader. I dunno what the hell I ever _saw_ in those other girls."

          "Bust, legs, and a short skirt?" Gippal suggested.

          "Most likely."

          "Come on, lets get some sleep, ya?" Wakka said. "Tomorrow's the last day we're here and we gotta pack up."

          "Yep," Tidus said, closing his book and laying back. "We all know how much you're gonna hate leaving this place."

          "Yea, I'm _really_ gonna piss pissin' in the latrine and getting splinters in my butt," the islander said with much sarcasm. "And thank you _so_ much for making comments when I just asked you to help me pick 'em out."

          "No problem, Wakka," Tidus yawned. "No problem at all…"

          [A/N: If you want to read all about Tidus' life, then read ahead. If not, skip this part and I'll tell you when he's finished talking. I happen to think it's interesting, but then again—I wrote it. Still hearing about his life from me would be a little more boring than hearing it from the horses' mouth… so to speak…]

          The next morning dawned hot and humid. Nearby, an orphanage had had to evacuate because some fiends had invaded, and the twenty-some-odd children in residence were all staying at the D.M.A.S until the fiends could be taken care of. By three in the afternoon, they were all there, and broken up into groups so that they could all get somewhere safe. Tidus was put in charge of a small group of them, only five, but he had to bring them somewhere that the fiends couldn't get at them. Fiends were seen heading towards the camp, and they would be dangerously close in a mere hour. Inside a building was their best bet.

          Not wanting to bring them to the tent where he, Gippal, Wakka, and Baralai were staying, he decided on one of the supply areas, where they would not only be safe, but would also have supplies in case they were stuck there for a while. He closed the door behind him and locked it with an axe handle through the handles.

          "I don't suppose anyone here speaks Common," he said after he'd ushered the children away from the door. They all just stared blankly at him, not understanding what he said. "Crud. I speak a little bit of Al Bhed, but just enough to get slapped." He sighed. What was he going to do? Someone would come around once it was safe to come out again, but he had no idea how long that would be. He was going to go mad if he had to sit here in silence for hours on end. He decided that the best remedy for this was to keep talking so that he didn't fall asleep.

          "Sorry about this. I'm new in town, you know? I'm from a little Kilikan province—Besaid. Ever heard of it?" He asked, receiving only blank stares in reply. A few of the children were smiling just because of the way he was talking. They were relatively _young_ children—none of them older than ten, and if he fell asleep then there was no _telling _what would happen…

          "Actually, I wasn't born Besaid. I was born in Zanarkand. That's a_ huge_ machina city way up north. It's a great place. They had every kind of person there—every nationality, every religion. Mages, Al Bhed immigrants, some of the more liberal Yevonites—and me, Tidus Jecht Reina, blitz ace, student, boy-next-door, and… well… orphan." He sighed. "I guess we've got that in common, huh? My parents are dead, too. My mom died when I was two. Hit by a truck and was brain dead for a week before they pulled the plug on her…" he trailed off, trying to gather himself so he wouldn't cry. Somehow it was easier to talk to these kids than it was to talk even to Wakka about it. Perhaps it was because they looked at him with total innocence, and unbiased and not injecting comments about Yu Yevon and God. They just listened. Granted he had not yet approached the subject with Yuna.

          "My dad died about seven years ago, but I never liked him. Well, he never liked me, either, you know? I think it's because I look so much like my mom did, at it was hard for him to have a reminder of her around when she wasn't. So he kinda shunned me. He wanted me to be a blitz ace, but I was never much good at it when I was little. I was clumsy. Had no balance. 'Course it didn't help that the ball was bigger than my head. But just before he died, he told me that I'd never be a blitzer. He told me I'd grow up to be a safe little suburban desk jockey with a wife and 2.4 kids and a dog and a cat and a minivan. Man, that pissed—sorry, language. I don't want you guys repeating anything I shouldn't be saying. That ticked me off pretty bad when he said that, you know? I guess I took up blitz because I wanted to prove him wrong. Then once I figured out how to play it, I really liked it. But I don't know if I wanna be like my old man and make it my career. I think I actually wanna do something that'll help people. I'm not sure what, though. Rikku said that I could probably be a psychiatrist since I'm so easy to talk to—but I guess you guys wouldn't know that because I'm not listening, I'm talking my brains out."

          He glanced at his watch. The time read 4:30 pm. How much longer would they be there for? He sighed. "If feel like my entire life is sitting on my tongue and knocking on my teeth and trying to escape through my lips. You ever feel like that? Once you start talking you can't shut up?" He received no answer. He didn't expect one. They kids were beginning to play with one another or talk quietly. Outside he vaguely heard someone yell, "Heads up! They're comin' this way!"

          "So, anyway, after my old man died his best friend Auron was appointed my guardian. I dunno what they saw in each other. Jecht was a heavy drinker, ya see, and he kept getting busted by the police. He was there so much that they became friends, I guess. But Auron's so _different!_ He's like… Mister Conservative. He's so serious but he's really got a sense of humor like you wouldn't believe. And he never cracks a smile even though he knows what he's saying is gonna make everyone in the room wet themselves for laughing. He's a great guy. I more or less think of him as my father, or a father figure, more than Jecht. He was never there for me but Auron is, even when I don't wanna talk. I guess it's because he actually likes me.

          "Oh, lordy, what else can I talk about? See, I got about three hours of sleep last night and my brain is telling me to shut my big fat mouth and go to sleep, but I can't go to sleep because I'm afraid that if I fall dead asleep here, I'm gonna wake up in a graveyard somewhere six feet under. But that's morbid. Don't wanna talk about that. But blitzing, man, I love it. Auron calls it the 'epitome of testosterone-sports,' but I can't think why. I mean half the Abes team was girls. I guess it's because their uniforms were a little tighter and _shorter_ than the boys' uniform was. Oh, yea, gotta love swimming around with girls in little shorts and tight tops. What could be better? Maybe _Yuna_ in little shorts and a tight top. But I'm not gonna talk about her just yet. Blitz, blitz, get back to blitz. Anyway, I was offered a contract to play professionally with the Abes when I was fifteen, but I turned it down. It was my own choice but Auron got a lot of hate-mail telling him that he shouldn't make the decision for me until I stormed out the front door in front of a news camera one day, yelled that it was my choice and that I wanted to finish high school before I made any major choices about my career. After that no one bugged me anymore.

          "Anyway, I went back to school full time and started concentrating a little more on my studies than on blitz. Before that my grades were pretty low, and by my last year at Yunalesca, I was taking honors courses. I even stopped trying to use the telescope on the roof to look into the all-girls private school across the street. I actually wanted to _do_ something with my life. And I wanted to do something worthwhile. I could be a highly paid blitzer and play games for a living and most men or guys my age would jump at that chance, but it'll just make me feel like I was turning out like my old man. I don't want that. Kent, and old friend of mine, called it 'soft.' Then he went on to take the contract and I haven't seen him since. It really sucks."

          There was some yelling outside as men began fending off fiends that invaded the camp. It seemed that whomever had yelled before that they were coming was right. From the sound of it, there were a _lot_ of them, too. The kids hugged ach other and stared at the door. Then they all looked back up at Tidus, hoping that he would say something. Even though they understood nothing he said, the tone in his voice and his facial expressions were comforting to them.

          "Anyway, you know, the _best_ think about living in Zanarkand was? I got to see all the great shows for cheap before they went onto Broadway in Bevelle. That's where all the good plays tried out. Yea, I'm a theatre guy. I like musicals. So shoot me. I saw the cool ones there, too. You know—'Mama Mia,' 'Movin' Out,' 'Sound of Music,' 'Lion King'—all of 'em! Saw a couple of huge flops, too. There was this one I saw a few weeks before we moved. I don't even really remember the name, I think it was something like, 'Magical Moments.' I can only remember one song from it and it gets stuck in my head easy." He screwed up his face. "Actually, I just remember the beginning of the song. It's the first song. 'You talk to me, a song begins. You speak and I hear violins, it's magic…'"

          Outside, either a wolf or canine fiend howled.

          "I think the fiend is better than I am. Well, you know, when I was sixteen, just before I turned seventeen, Auron got canned. You know how he broke the news to me?" A few of the kids giggled at his antics. He was becoming very animated, talking with his hands, pacing back and forth, sitting down, getting up, walking, turning, and all the while talking almost nonstop. "He came to me one day and said, 'Tidus, would you like to see where I grew up? A little island down south—called Besaid.' He'd mentioned Besaid before but I never really knew much about it. I said sure, why not. And he said, 'Good, now go pack up. We're moving in a month.' Is that any way to break the news to me? He never actually directly told me he got fired, I hadda guess myself! I still don't know for _fact_ what happened but I do know that there was a fight and some guy hit him in the knuckles with his nose. Or that's the theory, anyway. So, we up and moved to Besaid. I think that was the most spontaneous thing he's _ever_ done in his entire life. But I really should thank him. I mean, since I moved to Besaid I've met two of the closest friends I've ever had. Rikku and Wakka. Man, it's been one school year and I feel like I've known 'em forever. You guys ever get that feeling? You feel like you've known someone your entire life when really it's been seven months. Well…" he began counting on his fingers. "August, September, October, November, December, January, February, March, and a few days in April… that's… eight months and change. Wow. Not even a year and I feel like I could tell these people anything."

          Now he stopped talking for a few minutes, just so that he could catch his breath and check the time. He's been talking, pausing, walking, and _talking_ for about two hours. It was 5:30, and his stomach was beginning to growl. There was a little bit of food in the tent—bread, cheese, a little fruit, and bottles of water. The kids were beginning to hold their stomachs.

          "Bet you guys are hungry, huh?" He asked. They just stared at him. He groped for the word. "Uh… vuuf?" He managed to find the Al Bhed word for what he hopped was "food." When the children nodded, he figured he'd nailed it. He pulled down a box that contained dry ice and the food all packed neatly inside. He split it as evenly as he could among the kids and there was very little left for him. He made sure that they all ate and drank before he munched on the stale bread and the apple he'd managed to scrounge for himself. Even after, it seemed like he was even hungrier than before. And he was getting quite tired. He had to keep walking around and talking or else he'd fall asleep. He didn't want to leave these kids alone when there were fiends outside.

          "You guys all look like you feel better. I'm glad. I just wish that there was more food around here or I'm gonna faint before I get the chance to fall asleep. I just gotta keep talkin', that's all. A guy at a party told me that, once. I'd hit my head on a ceiling fan and I wanted to pass out. He was a huge guy, he must've weighed almost two hundred pounds, and he just grabbed my shoulders and he said, 'Just hold on! You gotta stay awake. Keep talking. Keep moving. You'll be okay, but you gotta stay with us!' Then I threw up on his shoes. I don't remember one damned thing after that. Oh, sorry. Man, you guys have to promise me that you won't repeat anything that you hear me say in here, okay? Ah, what the heck. It's not like you know what I'm saying anyway.

          "But what was I talking about before? There was something important—oh yea, Wakka and Rikku. Two awesome-est people I know. But then, there's Yuna. Gawd. If it weren't for Seymour I think she'd be a little less shy and a little more adventurous. This guy, Seymour Guado—" at the mention of "Guado," the children all grimaced. "No, no, it's okay. There's none here. If there was, he'd have to answer to me. But this guy, Seymour, he's freakin' _blackmailing_ her into living with him. She hasn't caved yet but he keeps hinting that he's gonna let the cat outta the bag. In Besaid there's a lot of Yevonites, so anyone Al Bhed isn't looked upon too kindly and Yuna's half Al Bhed. She's also a WhiteMage but anyone with powers is considered a Demon of some kind. She doesn't wanna let anyone know but about nine-tenths of the school knows she's a mage but her magic is all restorative so you'd think they'd at least like her for that, you know? But she's just so scared all the time. I know I probably shouldn't be saying this but she's gotta tell _someone, sometime,_ and I've been telling her for a while that she should tell Auron. At least that way we can get the show on the road, you know?

          "Yuna… I've never met anyone like her. Ever. In my life. She's… amazing. She wants to go into art, and I say she _should._ She's a damn good artist. You know the first time we went out was Homecoming. I saw her in a dress. Gawd, she's beautiful. I just… I dunno. I've never been someone to believe in 'love at first sight,' but once I got to know her, all I wanted was to be there for her. I'd tell her that I love her but I'm afraid she'll turn tail and run back into her little rabbit hole and never speak to me again. She's too level-headed for that. She just thinks that some things take time. Some do. But some things happen all at once."

          The kids were getting tired, and he put them all safely hidden away from anyting that might enter the tent. He wrapped them in blankets and get them pillows so that they could sleep. The desert was cold at night, just as all deserts were. One little girl about nine years old wouldn't let go of him when he tried to stand up.

          "Listen, honey, I'm taken. Yuna, remember? I gotta stand up, too, or you're gonna give me a permanent ducking position." He sighed, prying her hands away from around his neck. "Come on, honey… go to sleep." He hummed softly as he made sure she fell asleep. It was a lullaby he remembered a woman sang to him just after he found out that his father had died. "Bye-lo, baby, bye-lo, baby. Bye-lo, baby—bye-lo baby, bye. Daddy still loves you, Daddy still loves you. Daddy still loves you, though he's gone to war. Bye-lo, baby, bye-lo, baby. Bye-lo, baby—bye-lo, baby, bye…"

          The door rattled and Tidus' jerked to a startled stop. His conscience was eased when he heard Gippal's voice from outside.

          "Hey, is anyone in here?"

          Immediately, he yanked the axe from the handles. "Gippal! It's me! Hell, you couldn't've come at a better time…"     

Wow. Okay, again, I have to break this chapter before the original end. _Originally_ I was planning on having Tidus and Yuna go to Gagazet and there would be much fluff involved, but this is _fifteen_ pages! It was Deplora's idea. She saved my sanity. Anyway, I would muchly love reviews, and do tell me what you think about my rendition of Tidus' story. I thought it was a creative way to do it. I know the idea has been done somewhere before, the idea of just talking to stay awake, but I can't remember where, exactly. Maybe it was a bunch of places. I dunno. But anyway, the Gagazet chapter will be up by next weekend, so be prepared! I know everything that's gonna go on in that! Bye, my precious reviewers.  


	15. Gagazet

Here's the awaited Gagazet chapter! I know you're all anxious to read this, so I'll make my A/N nice and short. I'm writing this while we have no cable, which means no computer. So when I get this posted is a mystery to me as of right now. But I promise I'll find a way to post it by the weekend. If it's not posted, I promise you can all hit me with a baseball bat.

Disclaimer: I'm a watermelon. Therefore I do not own Final Fantasy.

Chapter 14

Gagazet

Auron read his newspaper quietly, but then look at his watch and then up the stairs in impatience. It was nearly 2:30 in the afternoon, and Tidus was still sleeping. He'd been back for two days but he hadn't even begun to recover from jet lag. The five hour time-change was quite a lot, though…

          "Tidus, get up!" He pounded on the teenagers' door. When there was no answer, he stepped carefully inside. Tidus was sleeping like a baby. After nudging, poking, prodding, and yelling did nothing to disturb him, Auron was about ready to scream. Then the doorbell rang. Resigned to answer it, he merely flipped the mattress over and went to see who it was.

          Standing at the door was a girl with brown hair and bicolored eyes. She had a slight tan, which looked somewhat recent. Under one arm she carried a black motorcycle helmet and slung across her arm and shoulder was a black purse. She looked nervous but strangely familiar.

          "May I help you?" Auron asked, opening the screen door a crack.

          "Yes—my name's Yuna. Yuna Bamarre. I'm looking for Tidus. Is he in?" She sounded far more calm than she looked. Auron opened the door wider to allow her to step inside, which she did after a moment of hesitation.

          "I'm Auron MacLeod," he replied. "Tidus is in, but he isn't awake yet," he explained.

          "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, backing up. "I didn't mean to—well, could you please tell him I came by? And that I'm sorry I'm late? I had trouble at the airports getting back from Luca." She turned to leave.

          "Wait a moment, miss," he put a heavy hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him. "Don't leave. Please, sit down. I have to wake him up, anyway and I'm sure he'll come down just as soon as I tell him you're here."

          "Thank you," she said softly, shifting her helmet to the other hip.

          "Why don't you put that down?" Auron said, indicating her helmet. "I'll be back in a second." He made it to the bottom of the stairs and saw a disheveled looking Tidus standing at the top landing, wearing only his boxers. "You finally decided to get up."

          "You dumped me on the floor," he said thickly around a yawn. "I had no choice."

          "Before you come down here, I might warn you to put some clothes on," Auron warned.

          "Why?"

          "You have company. It's Yuna."

          "Holy hell!" This jolted him awake long enough to charge back up the stairs and into his room. Auron settled back into his chair in the living room to read his paper.

          "He'll be with you in a minute," he assured Yuna. "He's putting some clothes on."

          "Thank you," she said quietly. While he was reading, she studied him. Tidus had been telling her for a very long time to tell Auron of her problems with Seymour. She was so tempted to. She'd been plagued by nightmares the entire time she was gone at Luca and though she never talked with her friends about it, she was desperate for help. She wanted someone to listen to her, and from the way Tidus spoke, Auron may have been the man to listen. She didn't know for fact if he could help but she could tell that he was trustworthy.

          "Are you all right?" Auron asked. "You seem tense. You're practically wringing your hands off."

          She did not answer.

          "Is something bothering you?"

          _Long_ pause.

          "Yes," she admitted. "I suppose Tidus will have told you."

          Auron shook his head and folded his paper, giving her his attention. He knew that this was important. And he was pretty sure he knew what it was about. "Tidus is a good kid," he said. "He hasn't told me anything. He's only said that you have a problem. He said that there is someone making…" he groped for a phrase. "Unwelcome advances."

          "He's stalking me, that's what he's doing," Yuna hissed. Thoughts of all the things Seymour had said and done and suggested and even every look he had given her bubbled to the surface. The hatred she felt for him. The fear that she felt about no one believing her and being left to fend for herself once Kimahri and the protection of the Conflict of Interest rules were gone. She told him about the day he set eyes on her, when she was a lost freshman in the halls and had to beg for a pass so she wouldn't get a detention for being late when she got lost. She told him of the looks Seymour gave her, with the fire burning behind his icy gaze. The way he spoke to her and the way he stood near her and seemingly casually putting his hand on her shoulders when he spoke to her. She even told him of the grab he had made at her months ago which had ultimately turned her resolve from passive fear to an intense rage. She wanted something done about it. She couldn't live like this any long and she refused to be bullied forever. Her story spilled out and when she was through, she sat there panting, winded. She felt as if she'd run five hundred miles. Finally gathering her strength, she looked up at Auron, waiting for a reply. His face was stoic and his eyes showed nothing. Fear washed over her and she felt hot and cold at once. What if he didn't believe her?

          "This is serious," he said finally. "If this is all true—and I have no doubt that it is," he quickly assured when he saw the fear in her face intensify. "If this is true, he can be stripped of his license to teach and will be jailed for years, probably. But you must be able to provide substantial evidence. Have you anything?"

          "Photographs of the bruises," she said quietly. "Once Tidus told me to carry a tape recorder with me and I caught him being flirty with me. But other than that I'm afraid it's just my word against his."

          "Tidus is a witness," Auron said. "And are your friends not also witnesses?"

          Yuna nodded. She had surprised herself. All the while she told her story not a single tear nor sob escaped her. Even now that she was finished, she was not sad or remorseful or even slightly frightened. She felt… relieved. The weight of her problem was still there, but it had lessened now that she knew that someone was going to help her.

          "I'll see what I can do. This will not go untended, that I promise you," he said gently. Before he could say anything else, there was some loud thumping down the stairs and Tidus appeared, wearing black shorts and a yellow t-shirt.

          "Sorry, Yuna, I hadda find some clothes and put my mattress back on my bed since _someone_ flipped it over," he panted. He noticed that Auron hadn't been reading his paper. "Were you guys talkin' about something?"

          Yuna did not answer. Instead, Auron picked up his paper and said, "Until you came down. But I'll tell you of it later."

          Tidus shrugged. He knew that either Auron or Yuna would tell him what they had been talking about in due time, so he didn't press it. "So where've _you_ been?" He asked with a fake sternness. "You told me to call when I got back but your uncle said that you weren't home yet. Thought you said that you were gonna get home the day _before_ I did, not the day _after."_

          Yuna blushed. "I got back about an hour and a half ago. Rikku and Lulu went home and went to sleep but I showered and cam here," she explained hastily. "I didn't want you to worry, so I haven't really even eaten yet and I—"

          Tidus put a finger to her lips and held her upper arms with his other hand. "Come outside with me," he said. "We can talk there." She nodded slowly and as they walked into the back yard where the trampoline stood, he studied her carefully. She'd gotten some sun while she was away. Her hair had also gotten lighter. She also looked a little less preoccupied. Even when they talked and laughed together, she still had a preoccupied expression.

          "You just got back yesterday?" She asked, breaking the silence.

          "Not really. I got back late the night before. What day was that? I can never remember what day it is when I'm on vacation."

          "Day before yesterday? Hmm… Saturday. But the only reason I can remember is because the days are printed on my birth control pills."

          Tidus promptly tripped over his boots and fell onto the grass. "You… you take birth control?" He asked in utter shock. He didn't _think_ she'd be doing anything to get pregnant…

          "For cramps. I used to get 'em so bad I missed school. I can't afford that."

          "Okay. I just didn't know," he said. He felt a little weird talking about this even though Yuna didn't seem to care. "Why'd you come home so late? What happened, did you get into some problems at the airports?"

          Yuna held back a giggle. "Okay, you'll need to sit down. It's a long story."

          "Does the trampoline sound okay?" He asked in a somewhat childish manner. "I mean, I've been sleeping all day and I need to move around or I'll fall asleep again."

          "I love trampolines," she admitted, taking of her boots and climbing onto the edge as Tidus did the same. "Kimahri would never let me have one as a little girl, though, and now I guessed I was just too old for one."

          "Oh come on," he began to jump, gaining enough height for a backflip. "Who could _possibly _be too old for _this?"_ He asked, grinning.

          "Kimahri," she said, bouncing a little bit and tucking her legs up so she could land on her rear end.

          "So, anyway, what happened? Why were you so late getting back?" Tidus asked, flopping down near her on the trampoline and making them both bounce from the impact. "Is everything okay?"

          "Well, we are _now,"_ she said. "It's a long story."

          "I've got time."

          "Okay," she said. "But I warned you." She took a deep breath. "After we got to Luca, when we went to go get our bags, we got stuck in customs. The metal detector went off at Rikkus' belly button ring and my earrings and Lulus' dress. So we got held up for twenty minutes while we were al searched and one of the officers found a Moomba in Lulus' dress and thought it was concealing a bomb or something. Then when we _finally_ got our bags and everything, it was late and we'd missed our train to the youth hostile where we were staying. So we ended up taking the _later_ train to the hostile and it took us about an hour and a half to get there. After we got there, we discovered that there was no plumbing, and that we would have to pee in the woods and bathe in the lake. And someone had found a dead body in that lake about three weeks before. And no one told us we needed sleeping bags, either, so we had to use our towels as blankets and then our clothes for towels. Eventually we went into town and _bought_ some woven blankets but for the first two days we had our towels for blankets. Anyway, when we were in town Rikku talked me into a lot of stuff. She made me get a dress! And she made me get… something else. She even talked Lulu into wearing lighter colors and getting a little sun but she wore _so_ much sunscreen that she hardly tanned at all. But when it was time for us to leave, we were all ready to come home and come back to plumbing and running water and things like that. On the last day, we went to the beach but when we went back to the hostile to get our things, we wanted to wash up but we _couldn't,_ so we ended up just going right for the airport with out things and smelling like beach and salt. Rikku and I smelled like beach and salt. Lulu didn't go swimming. But we got to the airport a little late so we just had time to _run_ onto the airship but we just sat on the runway for _hours. _Then they just let us off the plane and told us that we'd be taking off in an hour. So Lulu and Rikku and I all went to get dinner but by the time we got _back_ to the gate, the airship was gone. So all we had were our carry-on bags and our luggage was going to get back to Kilika before we did. By then we hadn't really showered in over a day and a half, so we went across the street to a hotel and had to _beg_ and _cry_ for a room for the night because we really didn't have much money. They gave us a room but I think it was just because we smelled so bad that they wanted us to go away. We finally got a bath but no one but me had clean clothes to change into. The only reason I knew to bring a change of clothes is because I travel so often that I've learned my lesson. But anyway, the next morning we ran to the airport and traded in our tickets for an airship. But _that one_ was late in arriving, too, so instead of getting back before lunch like we planned to, we ended up getting back a little after noon."

          Tidus stared at her with wide eyes. "You know, you sound like you have more fun in _school_ than you had while you were in Luca," he told her finally.

          "Actually, the time between misfortunes was pretty fun."

          Playfully, he asked, "So what was it that Rikku made you do, huh?" He noticed her blush slightly.

          "I can't show you. Well, I _can _but I don't want to."

          "Fine, then," he said with a false sulk. "Be that way." He got up and began to bounce again, making it hard for her to get up. Every time she tried to, she ended up falling back over.

          "I do have to ask you something, though," Yuna said as she finally gave up regaining her feet and stayed seated on the trampoline as Tidus leaped back and forth over her head.

          "Whatcha need?" He asked, still jumping.

          "Stop doing that and I'll tell you!" She yelled, covering her head with her arms as he made a particularly close jump. When he stopped, she looked up again. "I've already asked Rikku and Lulu and they've both said no. But every spring I got up to the Gagazet Mountains with the Ronsos, but this year I don't have anyone to go with and I don't like going alone. So, if you can get Auron to let you come with me, would you want to? Please?"

          Tidus jumped for a moment and flipped a backflip before landing in a seated position in front of her. "Are you _kidding?"_ He asked. "That'd be so _awesome!"_ He paused. "When would we have to leave?"

          "That's the downside—we'd have to leave tomorrow," she said with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry for such short notice, but I was supposed to go with Rikku but she backed down—"

          He covered her mouth with his hand. "Yuna, it's okay. Really. I don't mind and Auron'll be happy that I'm getting out of the house for spring break. I told him that after Bikanel, I'd be staying home all day and sleeping."

          "You're sure?" She asked, peeling his hand away. "It's no trouble if I go alone, I just like having someone around to talk to."

          "Yuna, I _wanna_ go. I've only passed through Gagazet on my way here from Zanarkand. What time are we leaving tomorrow?"

          "Airship leaves out of Besaid Port at seven in the morning. It's a pretty small company, so they can dock their ships at the port. It's an airship line that just goes from Gagazet to Besaid and back. Usually for cargo but they allow passengers."

          "So we don't have to take a ferry out to Kilika at some ungodly hour in the morning?" He asked. "Okay, I'm game."

          "Thank you!" She yipped in a Rikku-like way, lurching forward and hugging him tightly.

          "I guess my staying the night at your house wouldn't blow over too well, would it?" He asked.

          "I'll see if I can pull some strings," she said.

          "You serious?" He pulled back and looked at her. "You know I was just joking, right?"

          "Yes, but I wasn't." She leaned in and kissed him.

"Tidus, wake up," Yuna rattled him. "Come on, you have to get up. Up! Come _on,_ Tidus, get _up!"_ She shook him violently. "Come on, we gotta get out of here or we'll miss our ship!" She growled, now, agitated. Finally she stood back and said in a rather loud voice, "Oh, darn, my bra came undone again."

          "What was that?" Tidus immediately stood up. He was unsteady on his feet having just woken up. "Hi, Yuna." He rubbed his eyes tiredly.

          "Morning, honey," she said with an eye-roll. "Come on, I just spent ten minutes getting you up! We gotta get to the docks in fifteen minutes or the ship leaves without us!" She said, dragging him to his bag where he had his clothes. She threw a clean pair of shorts and a shirt his way. "I've got your luggage in the back of Brothers' car. Just get dressed and brush your teeth and wash up and go, okay?"

          "Sure, Yuna," Tidus said groggily. He couldn't even see his watch so he had no idea what time it was but he was pretty sure it was early because it was still dark out. "Don't I get food?"

          "We get fed on the airship," Yuna said. "Now hurry up or _I'll_ dress you!"

          "Is that a threat or can it be my birthday present?" He asked.

          "Move it!" She hissed.

          "Yeesh, okay, okay," he said, not liking her sour attitude. He was far to tired to have any kind of attitude with exception of "obedience," so he merely dressed and washed and stumbed out to the car where Yuna was speaking with Cid and Brother stood nearby, looking sullen.

          "…so if you just take the extra key you can come and get the car after we've left, okay? But if you take the car back you'll have to send someone to pick us up from the port when we get back in four days. Got it?"

          "Okay, Yuna, I'll send someone down there to get you two that afternoon," Cid said in his gruff, sleepy voice. "Can I go back to bed now?"

          "Go ahead. I just wanted to let you in on everything before it was too late, okay?"

          Brother piped up then. "Yuna, why be you take this blondie playboy with you?" He asked. His Common still had not gotten much better even after being in Besaid for nine months. "I know what he want from you! He just want your purity and I will not have it! I say I will go with you and you leave this… this… _jocularity_ here in Besaid where he not do anything bad to you!"

          Tidus bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing but it was just too hard to resist. Brother had probably meant to say "jock" but it came out "jocularity." And he was completely infatuated with Yuna and was trying everything in his broken Common power to stop her from going to Gagazet with him, alone. But Yuna was strong-willed and _smart_ enough to know better. She knew well enough that if she went with Brother, she may come back to Besaid without her virginity. She saw Tidus and smiled, relieved.

          "You ready to get a move on?" She asked.

          "More than ready," he said, slipping into the passengers' seat. When the doors were closed, he leaned in and whispered, "I was sick of seeing Brother hit on you, anyway."

          "Nice, Tidus—really nice." She rolled her eyes and backed out of the driveway, heading to the port so that they could catch their airship. When they finally did make it to the port they had barely enough time to get their bags checked, run through customs, and find their seats.

          Yuna was right—the ship was not crowded. Mostly there was cargo but there were seats, and they found two empty ones and settled in.

          "Do you want the window seat?" Yuna asked.

          "Huh? Sure!" He slipped into the seat and looked out the window, only to see the water and the dock.

          "The view over Gagazet is beautiful," Yuna said, settling herself into the seat next to him. "But I've seen it so many times." Once she was seated she leaned back and closed her eyes. "Wake me up when we get there, okay?"

          "Sure." He went back to looking out the window. He was looking forward to a little "alone time" with Yuna this spring break and it looked as though he'd be having more than he'd expected. He'd thought maybe they'd hang out and go to a movie or something. Instead she invited him two thousand miles from Besaid to Gagazet, to visit her old guardian, Kamahri Ronso. He had no idea where they were staying but he assumed that they were just staying with the Ronso in their village. He was anxious to meet them—he'd never actually seen a Ronso up close before. He, too, closed his eyes for a while and drifted off before he woke up.

          Tidus leaned back and smiled to himself. Yuna had fallen asleep quickly some time ago, and was now slumbering peacefully next to him and was also beginning to droop onto his shoulder. Good. Yuna was very independent, not clingy like other girlfriends he had either had or met. She didn't beg him for things and she didn't ask for anything. She depended on him for nothing. That was why he sort of wanted her to fall onto his shoulder and sleep—he'd feel like she needed him for something. Even if it was just a pillow. Turbulence cause the airship to jump a little and Yuna fell over almost completely into his lap before she opened her eyes sleepily.

          "Sorry," she said in a groggy voice, rubbing her eyes and yawning. "Did I hurt you?"

          "Naw," he said with a grin. "I was waiting for you to fall anyway. I coulda died happy saying that a gorgeous girl slept in my lap."

          "Who would that be?" She asked with her head tilted.

          "You, of course."

          She leaned in a whispered, "Flattery is going to get you nowhere with me."

          "Yea but it's fun trying."

          Yuna rolled her eyes and stretched with her hands way over her head.

          Tidus absently looked down at her stomach and saw something, and he was pretty sure his eyes had actually come out of his head when he saw it. "Yuna—what is that?" He asked. She glanced down and then immediately pulled her shirt down, hiding the silver bar through her belly button. Her face was bright red.

          "Oh, no, please don't tell anyone you saw that!" She begged. "Rikku made me do it. I'm going to let it close up soon but just don't tell anyone, please?"

          "Yuna, chill! I won't tell anyone! But you gotta wear something that'll show it. I know you don't wanna hear it from me but a belly button ring looks damned good on you."

          She cocked her head down and lifted her shirt to look. "You think so?"

          "Sure?" He winked. "Why not?"

          The airship rumbled to a stop in an enormous open field. There was a gorge to the northwest and a long, steep trail leading up to some forbidden, snowy mountains. Off to the east, there appeared to be a ranch of some kind, teeming with big yellow birds. Yuna leaned all the way over his lap to see where they were and then tapped him to get up.

          "We're here," she said. "We've gotta take chocobos up the mountain but it doesn't take very long. I know Clasko, too, so he'll let me take the chocobos up the mountain for free."

          "Chocobo?" he asked as he followed her off of the airship and onto the tall grass below.

          "Yea, come on this way. What, haven't you ever ridden one before?"

          "Uh… no," he said, then blushed. Was he going to delay their passage up the mountain? "Should I?"

          "Not really, it isn't that difficult. I'll ask Clasko to explain it to you as I get the birds ready," she said, hefting her bag. "I'm afraid I have so little faith in my own skills as a chocobo rider that I dare not tell them to anyone else."

          When they got to the ranch, a dark haired, dark eyed, and fairly dark-skinned young man stood with an enormous red feathered bird with long legs. It was big enough to bear a rider, maybe two, but it fought its' handler with fervor. Finally, he released the bird and it ran back into a big barn.

          "Fine, be that way, Quinn, but I'll break you eventually!" He turned and noticed that he had company, and his expression softened. "Hey, Yuna. I heard from a Ronso messenger that you'd be coming." He caught sight of Tidus with his hand twined with hers and his eyebrows raised. He made no comment on it, however.

          "Clasko, I need two chocobos. Mine and another for Tidus. I'll bring them out but I kinda want you to explain how to ride because I don't trust myself to teach him," she admitted.

          "You've broken bones more times than I can count—good choice, Yuna. Go get Bow-Tie and also Adagio. He should be good for a beginner," Clasko said.

[A/N: I know that Tidus learning to ride a chocobo should be irresistible material to work with but I am so _desperate_ to get this chapter out that I'm rushing from here on out!]

Yuna rolled over in her sleep and almost rolled right on top of Tidus. She smiled sleepily, thinking of the begging she had had to do with Kimahri to get him to agree to let her and Tidus share a tent while they were there. Tidus had sworn to be a gentleman, and Kimahri would every so often poke his head in through the tent flap at night or when they went inside to escape the unforgiving mountain winds. But other than the cold and snow of Gagazet, Tidus had had a good time the last two days. He'd gone hunting with the young male Ronso, the ones just entering adulthood. He'd managed to spear a deer but only wounded it, and they had to stalk it for almost a mile before it gave up. He'd even tanned the hide himself and said that he wanted to keep it for something, but he wasn't telling her _what_ he wanted to keep it for.

          Outside she could hear the Ronso beginning to get up and move around and prepare for the new day. Unlike most remote tribes, the Ronso did not start their day as soon as the sun came up over the mountain peaks. They had learned generations ago that tired Ronso were _very_ hard to get along with. The Ronso started their day whenever they woke up, so some were up earlier and went to bed earlier, and some were up later but worked well into the night, so everything got done that was needed to get done. But today, Yuna didn't want to be stuck doing Ronso women's work, as much as it fascinated her. She liked doing beadwork on animal hides, but today she just wanted to relax. She smiled. Macalania. There was a lake in the fabled Macalania Woods, and it would only take them about two hours to get there and back, if they rode chocobo-back. They could go there that morning, bring some food, and then come back in time for an evening meal. She smiled to herself.

          "Whatcha smiling about?" Tidus asked. He had to push the animals skins covering both of them aside so that he could sit up.

          "How do you fancy going on a trip today?"

          "We _are_ on a trip."

          "I mean going to a lake. In Macalania Woods. It's about two hours on chocobo-back, round-trip, but we can get there from here and then come back tonight," she said. "What do you say?"

          "I say lets get some chocobos and go before someone stops us!" He said, almost leaping to his feet until he remembered the lack of height in the tent. He stopped himself from putting his head through the walls just in time.

          Quietly, they gathered food, towels, and a blanket before they tiptoed to where Bow-Tie and Adagio were tethered.

          "Okay, boys, you know the rules," Yuna whispered to the birds. "You need to be quiet on our way out of here. I wrote Kimahri a note so he'll know where we've gone and he won't worry and since I have someone with me, there's not a chance that anything will happen. Okay? Now be quiet and don't make a sound out of here and Kimahri won't try and—"

          "Yuna go to Macalania Woods this morning," a deep voice behind them said, Yuna winced—busted.

          "—stop us," she completed her sentence.

          "Kimahri not stop Yuna," he said. Relief washed over both her face and Tidus' at once. "Kimahri wants to know when Yuna will return."

          "We'll try to get back before dinner," she said. "We might be a little late depending on the winds in the mountain and how long we stay at the lake."

          "Do not stay too long," Kimahri warned. "Wild fiends come out after dark. If you see fiends, spend the night at Claskos' ranch. Understood?"

          Yuna smiled. "Understood, Kimahri." They bowed to one another, out of respect, and when they straightened, Yuna launched herself at him and hugged him tightly. "Thanks." She turned to Tidus and said, "Come on, lets go before he changes his mind." She mounted Bow-Tie with ease and watched with some humor as Tidus, still unsteady on the back of a chocobo, struggled to pull himself up.

          Together, they raced down the mountain slopes and into the slightly warmer Calm Lands. The expanse of the Calm Lands was flat, and _very_ easy for a chocobo to get across. They made better time than Yuna had expected. A little less than an hour after they began, the chocobos were wandering through Macalania Woods. Tidus, having never been to such a place before, stared, mesmerized by the glowing blue stones, and trees, and what appeared to be a path made entirely out of diamonds leading up into the highest trees.

          "These woods are sacred to the Ronso," Yuna explained as she dismounted and began to walk alongside Bow-Tie. Tidus followed suit with his own chocobo. "And there are some creatures that live here, too. Fiends don't even live here. The Ronso say that it's because the goodness of such a sacred place suffocates them, and they die. I don't know if it's true but for whatever reason, the fiends don't come here and there's never any danger in the woods."

          She stopped walking, and Tidus bumped into her from behind since he was still staring at the treetops. "Sorry, Yuna, I wasn't—whoa."

          Now he was more transfixed than ever. A sparkling blue lake stood in front of them, the crystalline rocks at the bottom sending an eerie glow to the trees above. The forest was so dense that even the sky could not show through, giving the impression of an eternal night, and a few pyreflies drifted lazily about the surface of the water. He stole a glance at Yuna, who had taken the chocobos and tethered them. She was now staring into the water, and the blue-white-purple colors of the crystals in the water reflected off of her face. It made her look supernatural.

          "It's beautiful, Yuna," he said softly. He saw her nod, then sit down to take off her boots and roll up her jeans past the knee. She carefully waded out into the water, bending every so often to pick something up.

          "The water's warmer than it usually is this time of year," she commented, examining a flat stone and skipping it out across the water. "Usually it's so cold that it turns your lips blue after a while. It drains from the streams in the mountains." She bent again, picking something up in her hand but Tidus still couldn't see what she was getting.

          "What're you picking up?" He asked.

          "Stones and bits of shell," she said. "Also pieces of the crystals that fall off in the water. There's a woman in the village, Weetam, who makes beads out of them, then makes them into jewelry or a beautiful design on tanned hides. She's so talented. I tried to have her teach me but I could never get it down. Instead we trade. I'm mostly as good as any Ronso woman with pottery so I trade my clay goods for her beadwork. I'm going to have something made for Lulu. Her birthday is in a few weeks."

          "How long's it take her to make something?" Tidus asked, pulling his own boots off and wading into the water. He got an idea from this though. He began collecting some stones in his own pockets.

          "About and hour to create beads, then three to four hours for the rest of it," she said, picking up what she _thought_ was a stone, and ended up being a crab. She squeaked and tossed it back into the water. "The best stones and shells are out in the deeper water."

          "Why not go and get some?" He asked, handing her a smooth purple stone. "Here's one," he said.

          "Thanks." She tucked it into her pocket. "And I can't go into the water, because I don't have a swimsuit—_Tidus__ what are you doing?"_ She gasped, nearly falling backwards. Tidus had stripped off his shorts and his shirt and was wading into deep water in his boxers.

          "Going for a swim," he said in a mischievous tone. "Come on! Just have to take your clothes off."

          "Tidus, I can't do that! We shouldn't be _doing_ this!" She said, beginning to shiver. She wanted to. But she couldn't, not here. And besides that, she was still nervous about him seeing her in just her underwear. She got up on dry land.

          "Come _on,_ Yuna!" He called to her, floating on his back. "The water's nice and warm, too." He held his breath and turned a front flip in the water. "What're you so afraid of?"

          "Of what you'll think if you see me mostly bare," she admitted. If she wasn't going to do what he was practically begging her to do, she might just as well give him the honest answer.

          "Yuna, I don't think I'm _capable_ of thinking anything bad about you," he said seriously. "Please?" He gave her such a sweet smile that her resolve shattered right there. It was silly for her to think that he'd be critical, now that she thought of it.

          "I can't _believe_ I'm doing this," she said. She slipped her shirt off over her head and undid her belt and slid her jeans down her legs. Tidus watched her from a safe distance and was thankful that he was in the water to hide the drool he knew was forming at the corner of his mouth. Finally she stepped into the water wearing only her underwear and camisole. She swam out to him in the water, looking more than bashful.

          "Why so nervous?" He asked. "You're beautiful."

          She looked away and down into the water. She slid her eyes sideways. She'd seen him without his shirt on before but it was always at a distance. Forgetting decorum, she hugged him tightly.

          "I was afraid, I'm sorry," she said. She backed up a little, putting some distance between them. There was a very long pause as she contemplated telling him…

          "Yuna, you awake over there?" He waved a hand gently in front of her eyes. "Earth to Yuna?"

          "Sorry," she said, shaking the daze from her head. How long had she been standing there staring at him like that? How embarrassing. "I was just… thinking."

          "About what?"

          Another pause, but not as long.

          "I—I told Auron," she said quietly, immediately looking down at her feet. The water shifted a little as he moved closer to her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

          "He told me. He said he's gonna help you if it kills him."

          "He said that?" Yuna perked immediately.

          "Yea. It really doesn't sound like something he'd say," Tidus grinned some. "I guess he really likes you." To lighten the mood, he casually slung his arm over Yunas' shoulders and said, "So, now that we're two hundred miles from human civilization and two-thousand miles from home with no guardians to watch us and no blonde cousins squealing in my ears and no enchanted Moogle dolls running up the back of my pants when I'm not looking—whatcha wanna do?"

          Yuna laughed at his comment. In Besaid, even when they were alone, they weren't really _alone._ There were always people around them, talking laughing, joking, yelling, doing _whatever._ Now that they were in the isolated and sacred Macalania Woods, they didn't know what to do with themselves. For a while they went diving for stones. Yuna had been right—there were more and prettier stones out in the deep water than there were on shore. There were also more bits of Macalania Crystals sitting on the bottom of the lake. Tidus snatched several of the larger chunks up in his hands and slipped them into his pockets when Yuna was not looking. He still wanted something made for her.

          The quiet atmosphere turned playful as they got bored with searching for stone and began splashing each other and trying to play an underwater game of tag, but Tidus was a far better swimmer than Yuna was. After a while, she swam out to the little islet containing one golden orb and a crystal tree and scaled the tree easily, sitting in it and pretending to be angry at him for winning the game.

          "I'm not coming down," she said, pretending to be amused the one of the butterflies hovering through the branches. "I'm a bad sport. I don't like to lose."

          "If you come down, I'll let you win."

          "Too late," she said in an airy tone.

          "Yuna, please?"

          "Nope."

          "Yuna, I—" there was a thump a splash, and several four-letter words. "Aw, shit, nosebleed. Nosebleed, nosebleed. Not good!"

          This worried her, and she carefully slipped out of the tree and back into the water, where Tidus had his back turned to her and was holding both hands over his nose and mouth and whimpering.

          "Tidus, what happened?" She asked. "Are you all right?"

          No answer.

          "Tidus, come on. Answer me." She reached to tug his hands away. "Come on, this isn't funny. I can heal it but I have to see what happened."

          He began to laugh, and at her confused sound, he lowered his hands. "Nothing happened. I just wanted to get you down from there!"

          "Tidus, you're terrible," she snapped, turning away. Arms snaked about her waist and his head rested on her shoulder and he was breathing in her ear.

          "But you love me anyway," he said.

          "Yes," she murmured, turning to face him with her arms around his neck.

          "Do I kiss you now?"

          "Either you do, or I will."

          "Is that—"

          With that she grabbed him by the back of his hair, pulled him down and kissed him. When he kissed her back, her knees almost bucked from beneath her and dumped her into the water but she managed to keep her balance. Then they pulled away and he jerked his head towards the shore. Without words, they wandered up the beach and sat down on a rock, wrapped in the blanket that she had brought with them.

          They were content just to sit and watch the pyreflies float over the water. They slowly came back after they had been disturbed when a pair of teenagers had jumped into their water. The pair began to slowly drift off and had to keep themselves awake.

          "Tidus?"

          "Hm?"

          "Where's 'home' for you? Zanarkand? Or do you consider Besaid your home?" She asked.

          _There_ was an unexpected question. He thought on it for a few moments. _Home_ was… was it Zanarkand? He was born there. Spent his childhood there. But he never really thought that he was truly happy there. There were too many reminders of his father there, and he had _hated_ his father. "I guess Besaid is," he said. "But that's just because you're there. What about you? I know you weren't born in Besaid but you think of it as home, don't you?"

          "Yes," she said. "Bevelle is… too politically-governed to be a good place to raise a child. I think my… my parents were going to take us all to Besaid so I would have a place to grow up. But then there was that terrible accident, and Kimahri…" she took a deep breath. Remembering was painful. "Kimahri said that he was coming to take me away from Bevelle, far away. He said it was my fathers' wishes. I think there was a battle for a while over who would take custody of me—either Kimahri, the appointed guardian, or else Cid. But they didn't want me living where the political climate was so unstable that it was on the brink of war, so they let me go with Kimahri. He was my guardian ever since then."

          The chocobos screamed. They were getting tired of standing there, eating Macalania Greens and watching Tidus and Yuna exchange tonsils. They wanted to run! Yuna glanced down at her watch.

          "It's about time we left, anyway," she said, standing up.

          "Hey, Yuna?"

          "Yea?"

          "I think maybe we should put some clothes on before we go," he said, indicating that they were both still in their underwear. "I mean, not only will we freeze to death up in the Gagazet Mountains but I'm afraid that if the _cold_ doesn't kill me, then Kimahri will when he sees us like this."

          Yuna giggled. She tossed him his clothes and a towel. Their undergarments were not totally dry but they were just going to have to deal with it. They could change again once they got back up to Gagazet. And he had some things he wanted to give this Weetam once they were back. He swung his leg up over Adagio, only to come up and completely over the chocobos' back. He landed with a thump on the soft earth below him.

          "If I had five gil for every time I've done that, I think I'd be richer than the Maestors of Yevon," Yuna commented. "You okay?"

          "I feel a lot better knowing that this doesn't _just_ happen to me," he said. He tried to mount again, and succeeded. This time. "Come on, then, love," he put on a British accent as he spoke. "Tallyho."

          "Do you mean that?"

          "Mean what?"

          "You called me 'love.' Do you mean it?" The expression on her face and in her eyes was impossible to read and he was almost afraid to answer. But he did anyway.

          "Yes."

Cliffhanger! Am I mean? Yes. Am I cruel? Of course! But do you all love me because this chapter is well over seven thousand words? Uh-huh. But you may all take a swing at me with a baseball bat. I am days late in posting this and I'm not really sure what's gonna happen next. Hopefully the sheer length of this chapter will make up for it! Plus the little bits of fluff in there. Please review!   


	16. Action

Well, here I am—once again, I have no clue as to the direction of this chapter but hopefully by the time I finish my Author Notes, I'll have one. Anyway, I think I'll be winding this story down to a close soon, and then I'll start on Uptown Boys (see my profile for more information about that one) like Deplora has been so anxious for me to do. So now I've come to the end of this long authors' note, and I _still_ don't know where I'm'a go with this chapter. Ah well. _C'est__ la vie._ (Kitty would be proud of me for that.)

Disclaimer: Bugger off! (sob)

Chapter 15

Action

"MacLeod, this is serious business," the police chief looked over the claim that Yuna had made with Aurons' help. Auron nodded. It had taken him nearly two weeks to persuade Yuna to write the claim up and then another week and change to actually get it done. It was the mid-May, and time was running out before Yuna graduated and would not longer be under the protection of the laws covering student-teacher relations.

"I know it is," he replied angrily. He had gone through four people before ending up talking with the chief about Yunas' claim. He was beginning to get very tired of reciting this over and over again. "I've done a background check, and the name Seymour Guado came up in three charges of molestation, statutory rape, and manipulation—all with teenage girls. He either tricked them or forced them into a relationship, and they were all the quieter, shier girls that either no one knew or no one would believe. The first two charges were dropped because Seymour was respected man. Then the third girl exposed him and he was no longer allowed to teach in Guadosalam. Then he came here."

"You say that this Yuna girl—she's a good girl?"

"Yes. Why would she lie about something like this? What would she have to gain?" Auron growled.

"Attention, perhaps," the other man said. "Maybe he gave her a bad grade and she wants to get back at him. You realize, of course, that this is an extremely serious charge and it is not taken lightly. That is common knowledge. The sexual molestation of a minor is taken _extremely_ seriously around here and in most places, and that is a well known fact. Could it be that this girl knows that Seymour Guado could be jailed for years? And she wants her revenge on him?"

"If you don't mind, could we refer to her as 'Yuna' or 'the young lady'?" Auron sounded irritable. "I know Yuna. She's a good girl and she would never do anything to hurt someone and she would not fabricate a story like this. She has no reasons to and she knows that the consequences for spinning such a tale are almost as extreme as if the tale were real; trust me, sir, she is _not_ lying and I would like action taken. If something happens to her she could be hurt, both physically and psychologically."

The chief sighed. "All right. I'll warrant it. But before I do I would like to have a talk with the young lady, if you don't mind?"

"She's in school right now. I can tell her the next time I see her."

"Bring her around as soon as possible, MacLeod."

"Whatever you say, sir." Auron then walked away, leaving the station. He'd have to tell Yuna very calmly that the chief wanted to talk to her. He was afraid that the poor girl would go absolutely insane and maybe even take back everything she said. He sighed. He'd definitely have to make sure that she'd be okay. Maybe Tidus could come with them.

"Hey, Yuna, d'you think you could stop by my house later?" Tidus asked, standing in front of Yuna with his hands braced on the doorframe, keeping her from entering the classroom. "I've got something for you. I didn't wanna bring it to school because I didn't want it to get stolen."

Yuna raised her eyebrows. "All right," she said hesitantly. She had no idea what he could be talking about. "Maybe I'll just let Rikku take my bike home and then I'll get a ride with you."

"That works," Tidus said, and winked. The bell rang and Yuna slipped underneath his arm to get to her class. Tidus sighed—he was late. Again. Maybe he should just stop the class. It was Chemistry—he didn't even like the class all that much except that he sat in the back and could sleep if he wanted. He ended up falling asleep with his head on his fist, leaving a red imprint of his knuckles in his cheek before the final bell rang and they were free to leave school.

Yuna was waiting outside for him in the front of the school, twirling a set of keys in her fingers. She looked impatient. She didn't see him right away, and he went to stand next to her without her knowing. She was still absently twirling what he recognized as the keys to her bike when he decided to let her know that he was there.

"Come here often, honey?" He slipped an arm around her shoulders and she jumped and turned to him with wide eyes, frightened. When she saw who it was, her eyes went narrow and she scoffed.

"Tidus, you can't do that to me. I get so jumpy and nervous," she said, leaning against him.

"When I get nervous, I usually just pee," he said. Yuna pressed the back of her hand to her mouth to try not to laugh. She had never really been one for stupid bathroom humor but she supposed there was a time and place for it.

"I just have to give my keys and then we can get moving."

"Okay," he said. "I hope you don't mind this is pretty last-minute. I wanted to tell you this morning but I didn't see you."

"I know, I hadda go upstairs and order some stuff for Miss Amí because she couldn't leave the classroom." She glanced at her watch. "If she's not here in five minutes, I'll leave my bike here and come get it later and Rikku can _walk home!"_

"Man, are you like this with just Rikku or are you like this with other relatives, too?"

"Pretty much everyone with ties to my DNA," she admitted. "I've never been much of a people-person, you know that. Family I can offend and get away with it."

"I'm glad I'm not related to you, then."

Yuna grinned. "If you were related to me, I would not be doing this," she stood taller so she could reach his lips to hiss him, but she hear a familiar voice.

"Ooh, sorry, Yunie, am I interrupting?"

She stopped and closed her eyes and put her forehead gently on his chest. "Rikku, I love you but you have such a nasty sense of timing."

"Yea, you _were_ interrupting," Tidus snapped, covering the younger girls' eyes with one hand and gripping Yuna with the other and giving her a quick kiss. "That's better."

"Rikku," Yuna tried to maintain herself without blushing. "Here, take my keys and take my baby home. I'm going home with Tidus so don't wait up."

"Brother's gonna be mad, you know. You said you'd come right home today," Rikku said.

"Well, forget Brother, then," Yuna said, sounding slightly aggravated. "It's not like he can make me do what he wants."

"Yea, but you realize that if you don't show up, _I'm_ the one who's punished and has to live with him thinking up the absolute worst cast scenarios?" Rikku demanded. "And what if he tries to call the police?"

"Unplug the phone, then," she was losing her patience. "Look, I gotta go. Brother will just have to deal with it, okay?"

"You owe me."

"You've got my bike, Pypa."

"Yunie—"

"I'm leaving now!" She and Tidus began walking away and Rikku was still standing, trying to argue Yuna into staying with her.

"You can't just abandon me like this!"

"Ignore her," Tidus said.

"I am. Walk faster so she doesn't gain on us."

"Yunie, I'm still behind you! I can hear everything you're saying!"

Yuna sighed and turned around. "Rikku, I'm going to count backwards from five and if you aren't gone by 'three,' your _teeth_ will be back home before you are. Comprende?"

"Yes ma'am…" she backed away slowly.

"Now I'm _really_ glad we're not related."

After they got away from Rikku and managed to escape from the school parking lot, Tidus pulled into his driveway and was very relieved to notice that Auron was not yet home. It was a little less complicated. Yuna stepped inside as Tidus held the door open and almost broke her neck trying to step over two rapidly-growing kittens and two fully-grown cats.

"Please, cats," Tidus picked them all up and shooed them away. "My lady friend did _not_ come to see you!"

"Auron let you keep the kittens?" She asked. "I thought you said he wanted them out.

"Only these two because they got too attached to the house and they didn't want to leave," he said.

"In other words you don't wanna see them go?"

"I got attached! Hell, they sleep with me!" He paused. "You probably think I'm weird now, don't you?"

"Why would I think that? I have pets, too, remember? They sleep with me. But Ursa takes up way more room in bed than I do, so I end up with very little space." She snickered. One of the kittens rubbed her ankles. "What did you end up naming them?"

"I call the black one Hermes and the tabby is Marid. They're little monsters." He picked up both kittens and plopped them on his shoulders. Then he remembered why he had asked her over and he reached into a cabinet that was blocked with two bricks. Yuna looked confused as to the purpose of the bricks. "I told you they're little monsters. They learned how to turn on the lights, the showers, flush the toilets, and get into most of the cabinets." He handed her a box. "I had part of it made for you when we were at Gagazet, and the other part I had Rikku get your size for. It just got here."

"You didn't have to do this, you know," she said.

"I know, but I wanted to."

Yuna carefully opened the package, revealing an undyed muslin poet shirt and a suede bodice with an intricate pattern of beads like ivy all across the front and shoulders and back.

"Tidus, where did you get this?" She asked softly, running her fingers across the beadwork.

"I told you—Gagazet. I had Weetam do it. I asked Rikku to get your measurements and got the shirt from a place that sells Renaissance costumes." He paused and added sheepishly, "I dunno if it'll fit, though."

"I can go put it on, but that's just your way of saying that you want to see me in a bodice." She grinned as she went into the bathroom and changed, slipping the flowing shirt on and then pulling the neck down, leaving her shoulders bare. She tied the strings at the wrists and around her shoulders before putting the bodice on and lacing it up the front and tying it securely. She looked at herself in the mirror and bit her lips to keep from laughing audibly. It all fit well but, like all of the bodice or corset-like clothing she'd ever worn it pushed her bust up and forward. At least the shirt covered her and she wasn't spilling over the top of it. She rolled her t-shirt up and stuck it underneath her arm. She stepped out of the bathroom and saw Tidus dive past the door to catch a runaway cat which held something shiny in his mouth.

"Get back here you little heathen animal, you!" He yelled, finally cornering the cat between the kitchen cabinets and picking him up and taking the necklace out of his mouth. It was the symbol for the Zanarkand Abes, the silver necklace on a heavy chain that he always wore.

"Trouble?" She asked, leaning on the wall next to the bathroom door.

"He stole my necklace right from around my neck! He's a monster!" He picked up the kitten and turned around. When he got a glimpse of her, she stood away from the wall and spun around slowly.

"Whatcha think?" She asked sheepishly.

He didn't even know he was staring with his mouth open until he went to close it. She looked damn good in that thing. He hadn't even noticed that she was wearing fitted jeans until she took off that t-shirt that was about a million sizes too big…

"You okay, Tidus?" She'd walked right up to him and he hadn't even noticed.

"Yea, I think so. Just… wow." He shook his head to clear it.

Yuna was smiling widely. She wrapped her arms about his waist and moved up to kiss him when the front door opened and an annoyed yell came from the front hallway as Auron tripped over two cats. The pair sprang apart and looked around to see what had happened.

"We now have more cats than I have feet!" Auron yelled. "We are not getting any more!"

"A simple 'I'm home' usually does the trick," Tidus yelled.

"I just talked with the Chief and he said that we'd have to bring Yuna around so he can talk to her—" he rounded the corner into the kitchen and saw Yuna standing there and he backed up a step from shock. "Sorry, Yuna, I didn't know you were in. I didn't see your bike."

"I had Rikku take it home for me," she said. She was nervous, now. She knew she'd probably have to go see the chief eventually but she just didn't know when—or what she'd say. Auron noticed the fear in her eyes quickly.

"There's nothing to be afraid of and we don't have to go today, but he does want to speak with you to assure that you haven't fabricated any of this."

"Why would she've done that?" Tidus asked.

"I said the same thing and he gave me a list of reasons, but none of them sound like something you would do, Yuna. He just wants to make sure. Is that all right with you?"

She said nothing for a moment or two while she thought of it. "I'd rather I didn't do it but I know that I have to. There's really nothing I can do about it right now. I'll go."

Auron nodded. "You're braver than Tidus is. Once I had him talk to the chief where I worked in Zanarkand, just to keep him busy while I went to pick up some files, and he went all to pieces."

"I was _twelve!"_ Tidus yelled in his own defense. He saw Yuna put her hand over her mouth in an effort not to laugh out loud, and suddenly he felt better, being able to make her laugh even though she was frightened. "It'll really be nothing, Yuna," he assured her. "In, out, and on with life."

Yuna nodded. Auron spoke again.

"We can leave now. The chief wants to see you as soon as possible."

"Best to get this over with as soon as we can."

"Good choice, Yuna."

The phone rang and Brother picked it up. "Hallo? Who calls, please?" He asked. He and Rikku were awake but Yuna was still upstairs, fast asleep. It was the first chance she'd gotten to sleep in for over two weeks and she had warned everyone that she was not going to waste it. The voice on the other end of the phone line answered.

"Hi… is this… Brother?" Tidus asked skeptically.

"Yes… who calls? This is Tidus, no?"

"Uh… yea. Is Yuna there? I need to talk to her right away. Tell her it's important."

Brother fumed. "You will not take Yuna! You blonde boy-play, you! Yuna is mine! You not take her from me! I love her! She is not to be with you for any more time!" He slammed down the phone.

"Brother! What the hell was that for?" Rikku yelped, appalled at her older brother's manners and lack thereof. "Who was on the phone?" She had a good idea but she decided to give her brother a chance to answer.

"He will not have her!"

"You hung up on Tidus _again?"_ Rikku snapped. "Brother, he's Yuna's boyfriend! Face it! You aren't it! You won't have her! She's not interested in you!" She huffed.

"But I love her."

"You're a horny bastard!" She turned and went upstairs to call him back and see what he'd wanted at the ungodly early hour of nine on a Saturday morning. She took the cordless phone into her bedroom and dialed Tidus.

"Hello, Rikku," Tidus said right away.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"I knew you'd call back after Brother hung up on me. You always do."

"He's such a butt," Rikku said. Then she paused. "So what's up? It must be pretty important if you called before you knew Yuna would be awake."

"It is! Could you go get her up for me?"

"What're you? Nuts? I'm not gonna get her up!"

"Rikku, seriously, this is important."

"So is my life."

He sighed into the phone. "All right, then tell her I'm coming over. I gotta talk to her like _now._ It's important, so just tell her that I'm gonna be over in about ten minutes, okay?"

"All right," Rikku said, and hung up. She figured it probably was important if Tidus was telling her to get Yuna up before she was damned well ready for it. She nervously reached for the doorknob and was shocked to see Yuna sitting upright in bed, pulling a shirt on over her head.

"Hi, Rikku," she murmured.

"Yunie, what's up? Why're you getting up?"

"I heard Brother yelling at the phone downstairs and I guessed it was probably Tidus. What'd he want?"

"He said he's coming over. He's got something really important to tell you. Good news. Any idea what it is?"

She shrugged. "Not really. It's probably major, though, because he wanted to wake me up."

"He said he'd be ten minutes. You think you'll be able to shower before he gets here?"

"Probably not, but I wanna talk to Brother before he gets here. We gotta get him to stop hanging up whenever Tidus calls."

"I tried, he doesn't listen," Rikku growled.

"Not to you but he might to me," Yuna suggested. "I'll have a talk with him. If worse comes to worse I'll bribe him."

"I can't spare any more underwear, Yunie."

Yuna shook her head and wandered downstairs to where Brother was waiting by the phone, ready to pounce on it at a moments' notice. He was obviously waiting for Tidus to call again so he could yell at him. She sighed. This was annoying.

"Brother?" She asked. He turned and his expression promptly turned soft.

"Yuna, that blonde boy called the house. He want you! I will not let him have you, so don't worry. I chase him away for you. He is up to no good with you. I can tell. I know the brain of men."

Yuna counted to ten before she began to talk. "We need to talk, Brother," she said. "This has to stop. You can't just yell and hang up every time Tidus calls. He's called a lot since we started going out and every time you answer the phone, you hang up on him! He doesn't like it but he won't say it but it's also annoying and embarrassing to me," she explained. "You've gotta stop it, okay? I like Tidus, and he likes me, and we're dating, whether you like it or not."

Brother began to say something but Yuna interrupted him.

"And even if we weren't dating there would be no chance that I would be with you. You're my cousin, and as such the only thing we have in common is DNA. I don't like you like that, Brother and I never have and I never will."

Brothers' eyes went wide. Luckily for Yuna, the doorbell rang and she leaped up to answer it before she had to see her cousin cry. She couldn't stand seeing other people cry, especially when she made them do it. She opened the screen door, letting herself and Ursa out to meet Tidus on the front step, where he stood with a huge smile on his face and he didn't even mind when Ursa knocked him back onto the concrete stoop to say hello.

"Ursa! Get _off!"_ Yuna yelled, pulling on the collar so that Tidus could get up. He dusted himself off and then trapped her in an enormous hug.

"Yuna, it's over! They've got him and they're making him leave the school and they're gonna try him and everything! They've come up with a string of alleged cases against him and they've got enough dirt to make him leave the school!"

It took a solid minute before Yuna realized what he meant. Seymour Guado.

"He's gone?" She whispered.

"Yes, he's gone. And they're making sure he won't get you."

It hit her all at once, like a piano dropped on her head. Her knees suddenly felt very weak and she had to sit down, staring ahead with a dazed look on her face. Gone. Seymour Guado was not going to be able to do any harm to her. He wouldn't be able to blackmail her or stalk her or spy on her or anything. Four years of fear and pain and a proverbial thundercloud following her everywhere was finally over. She took a shuddery breath and tried to calm herself down. The years worth of fear at him exposing her for a halfblood and the last four years of hatred, fear, and insecurity about herself bubbled to the surface as tears, and as the bubbles reached the surface they popped, leaving her feeling lighter. It was all over.

"I told you it was good news," he said quietly as he slipped his arm around her shoulder and let her cry into his shirt until she was completely dry of tears.

You realize of course that I am not letting Yuna get away from him _that_ easily. There'll be things that happen. I'm not telling you what, though, so you'll have to keep reading. The next chapter will probably be the second-to-last, plus and epilogue. I can probably make the next chapter the last one if I make it super-duper long. Which do you guys want? Extra-long chapter and an epilogue or two chapters and an epilogue? It's your choice but lemmie know before I write again. And I am deeply sorry for the delay in posts. Shit happened. A lot of it. All at once. Consequently, I think this chapter really sucks. Or else it's not my best work. It's also a little cliffy but I do actually know where the next chapter will go so it shouldn't take me too terribly long to get it out. Stay tuned!


	17. Just Yuna

I'm nice and warm from being outside and it's a sunny day and I have my music and there's no dad around for three weeks because he went to England which means I can probably work nonstop if I need to. Downside? I'm lazy. But I am getting started on this, and for once I actually know where I'm going! Woohoo! No more blindfolded running-in-circles for me! On with the show!

Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim the use of any familiar characters used in this story. They are sole property of Square and I merely borrowed them for my own use which has nothing to do with my own personal gain. All tips, payments, and donations you reviewers wish to give me will have to be paid under the table.

Chapter 16

Just Yuna

"It feels strange," Yuna admitted, sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest, rocking gently back and forth. She was sitting on the couch in her living room, watching Rikku and Tidus have a mad battle over which movie they were going to watch.

          "Whatcha mean, Yunie?" Rikku took a moment from her fight with Tidus to talk with her cousin. Lulu came in from the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn on one arm and a slightly burned Moogle under the other.

          "I think she means that she feels a little odd, because she's lived for years with a constant fear and it was such a major part of her life, and now that fear is gone and she is unsure of how to handle it," the mage suggested. She looked at Yuna, placing the popcorn on the table. "Am I right?"

          "Yea, that's exactly it. I just don't know what to do with myself!" She smiled a little to herself. "I'm just not used to it, is all. I'm just so used being afraid every time I step out of the house or go to school, and out of habit I'm still a little frightened, but I have nothing to worry about." She paused. "It's kind of like walking around for years with a huge weight tied around my neck and it took a lot of effort to hold my head up, only now I can hold it up without struggling."

          Tidus was sitting back on his heels and looking at her with a look of admiration in his eyes. Yuna put her legs down so that she could look at him without her knees obstructing her view. Then she smiled, and jerked her head slightly towards the space next to her, wanting him to come and sit with her.

          "Does this mean I've won?" Rikku asked. "Cuz you know what movie I'm gonna pick to watch if you give up now. It means we watch _The Wizard of Oz_ instead of _Spiderman._ You're okay with that?" She baited, waving the DVD in front of her.

          Tidus sighed slowly and turned to look at Yuna, who put her hand over his mouth.

          "Before you say anything, keep this in mind: she _lives_ with me."

          "My condolences," he said quietly.

          "What?" Rikku turned right around after putting the movie in. "What're you saying about me, huh? What? What's going on?" When neither answered her, she turned to Lulu, who was cleaning the burned fur on her Moogle. "Lulu, what'd they say to me?"

          _"Je ne sais pas,"_ she said, carefully wiping the burned parts with a paper towel. "I wasn't listening." She propped her Moogle up in her lap. "There, that's better. Now no more going for the stove while I'm popping popcorn, all right? It's dangerous."

          They started the movie, and before Dorothy sang "Over the Rainbow," there was a disturbance. A little pair of paws came out from underneath the couch and snagged Rikku in the back of her ankle. She yipped and lifted her feet up.

          "Rikku, shush," Yuna whispered.

          "What was that?" She asked, looking down.

          "What was what?" Her cousin asked back.

          "Something got my ankle." She shrugged and went back to watching the movie but then it happened again. This time she dragged it out when it got stuck on her shoe. "Ah-hah! I've got you, you little monster!"

          "Hey, leave Spice alone!" Yuna snapped, snatching her cat away from her cousins' foot and cradling her like a baby.

          "Leave the cat alone?" Rikku rubbed her ankle. "She was the one who attacked _me!_ Not the other way around!"

          Lulu grew tired of listening to them argue. "All right, that's it. Everyone, stand up," she commanded. Knowing better than to argue, everyone did as they were told, Yuna holding onto her cat. "Okay, Rikku, trade places with me, so you're sitting on that end of the couch, and Tidus switch places with Yuna, and Yuna you hold onto that cat. There," she said. "Now you're on opposite sides of the sofa and there's nothing to fight about. Everyone just shut up and watch the movie."

          There was a long pause before Tidus got up the nerve to say, "You know, Lulu, for all it's worth, you'd make a really good parent of multiple children someday."

          Lulu glared menacingly at him. "What are you implying?" She asked in a venomous tone.

          "Whatcha mean?" Tidus asked, confused.

          "You're suggesting that I'll end up popping out children with _Wakka__,_ aren't you?" She hissed, getting defensive out of her own paranoia.

          "No, I didn't mean it, I swear!" He was beginning to slide further back from Lulu and squashing Yuna against the arm of the sofa. "Sorry, Yuna, but this is turning into a matter of life-and-death for me," he said as an excuse as he continued to try and put as much space as possible between him and the irate Black Mage.

          "Lulu, why doncha leave him alone?" Rikku asked. She'd paused the movie as the house was falling from Kansas to Oz. "He didn't mean anything by it, just that you handle people so well you'd make a good mother—_don't hit me!"_ She yelped as she covered her head and cowered, perched on the arm of the sofa.

          "Lulu, _you_ were the one who brought Wakka up. No one mentioned him, just you," Yuna said calmly. She seemed braver than everyone else because she had Tidus sitting between her and possibly death by Thundaga spell. "Now hush and watch the movie before someone comes and drops a house on _you."_

          Tidus and Rikku waited for something to explode. But to their surprise, Lulu merely smiled and nodded before playing the movie again.

          Rikku spoke next. "If someone _did_ drop a house on her, I doubt anyone would want her shoes."

          Lulu pinched her leg.

Yuna stretched and yawned. Lulu had left hours ago, and Rikku had gotten bored and gone out, so she and Tidus had had the house to themselves for the last three hours. Even Brother had made himself scarce and had not bothered them. He spotted her and Tidus cuddling earlier and ran off like a little girl having a tantrum but they hadn't seen him any more that night.

          She yawned again and sat up, rubbing her eyes. "It's ten-thirty," she observed. "I think I should probably take you home." Usually she would have been scared to be out this late, but surprisingly felt very good to be able to just do things as she pleased and not have to worry about being spotted.

          "You're gonna take me home?" He asked, looking down at her. "I'm not totally helpless, you know."

          "Yea, but you're forgetting something."

          "What?"

          "I drove you here. That means either I drive you back or you can walk."

          "All right, I get it."

          As they made their way to the front door, Yuna remembered something.

          "Oh, I just remembered. I have something for you, since I know you're probably tired of borrowing my helmet all the time when you get a ride with me." She reached into a box underneath the table in her front hall and pulled out a shiny blue helmet with a black tinted visor.

          "Hey, thanks!" He smiled. "All we need now are matching leather jackets and we could be Hells Angels!"

          Yuna sighed heavily, putting her right hand against her face and trying not to laugh. "Yea, the last of the Easy Riders." She rolled her eyes. "Come on, lets just go before it gets too late for me to drive." She looked outside and noticed that it was raining. Actually—it was pouring. "And too wet for me to drive. We'll be okay. It's not like I've never driven in the rain before. I just hope you don't mind getting wet."

          "Naw, not at all. But we should probably go before Brother sees us getting ready to leave and tries to stop me from abducting you."

          "Good idea."

          "Hope you don't mind a good soakdown in the rain," she said as they mounted her bike.

          "Not normally but Auron might actually get upset if I drip all over the carpet."

          And off they went in the pouring rain. The ride was fairly quick but a little dangerous—the wheels kept slipping on the roads and they went through puddles, getting their legs and feet completely wet. By the time they made it to Tidus' house, it was beginning to thunder. Instead of parking her bike in the driveway like she normally did, Tidus had her leave it under the front porch so that it wouldn't get totally soaking wet. Once inside, they were greeted with towels and an unusually amused Auron.

          "Hi, Auron," Tidus said, drying his hair. They were still dripping on the tile in the front hall. "Sorry I'm late."

          "That's quite all right. Apparently it's raining just as hard out there as it sounds like it is in here," he said. From inside, it sounded as if stones were hitting the windows from the size and force of the raindrops. "Yuna, you aren't planning on driving back home any time soon, are you?"

          "I—I _was_ planning on it, or everyone's going to get worried about me," she said. Thunder boomed outside and lightning flashed in the windows. "Or not…"

          "My sentiments exactly. I would feel better if you spent the night here, until the storm lets up," Auron said. "Why don't you call home while Tidus and I set up the spare room for you?"

          "Thank you," she said. "I'm still dripping wet though."

          "It doesn't matter."

          Yuna nodded and found a phone as Auron and Tidus went upstairs to make up the spare bed.

          After only one ring, someone picked up the phone at her house.

          "Yuna, where are you?" Brothers' familiar and obnoxious voice pierced her eardrums. "What happen? I know who take you away from me, it were that blonde boy _jocularity_ and he want—"

          Someone else on his end of the line picked up a phone.

          "Yunie! It's you! Thank goodness—Brother saw you leaving with Tidus and he's been all over the place crying about it!" Rikku said. "Brother hang up the damned phone!"

          "I must rescue Yuna! I need to see her—if something happen to her I must not go living!"

          "Hang up and I'll give you something of hers," Rikku drawled. At this the phone immediately clicked and she and Yuna were the only two on the line.

          "He annoys me," Yuna said. "Anyway, I have to tell you—I'm spending the night here because it's getting too dangerous to drive home. I'll be back in the morning, okay?"

          "Is this because you're alone?" Rikku asked.

          "What? No! Nothing like that! It's started thundering and lightning over here and Auron said he'd feel better if I didn't drive home until the storm stopped and it doesn't look like it's going to stop any time soon."

          "Uh-huh…" Rikku murmured. In the background, Yuna heard a male voice speaking in Al Bhed. Her cousin yelled back, "It's Yuna, I'll be there in a minute."

          "Who's there, Rikku?"

          "It's Gippal. He met me in the park and I offered to let him stay the night."

          "And Cid's okay with this?"

          "Yep!"

          Yuna stared at the phone with an amazed look on her face much like she would be staring at Rikku if she were there. "You mean he doesn't know, right?"

          "No, I told him. He was fine with it."

          "Well, you go ahead and have fun. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

          "Sure thing Yunie," Rikku said. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

          Yuna hung up, then buried her face in her hands, laughing. Brother had completely gone back to his old tendencies. At least she wouldn't have to see him tonight. She looked down at her wet clothes. The bottoms of her jeans almost completely up her shins were soaked, and her shirt was wet, as well, and even though she had had a helmet on, her hair had also gotten pretty wet. Her socks were dry thanks to her knee-high boots, but everything else was hopelessly wet. And she didn't have anything to change into come morning…

          "You needn't worry about your clothes," Auron said. He'd come up behind her. "I can clean them tonight and they'll be dry by the time you head home tomorrow."

          "Thank you," she said, smiling shyly. Auron was a nicer guy than he appeared to be.

          "And as for sleeping gear… will a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt work for you? I'm afraid with two men in a house there's little else to wear."

          "That's all right. It's what I normally wear anyway."

          Yuna donned the garments, black shorts and a gray sweatshirt with "ZANARKAND" written across the top, from Auron and quickly put them on in the bathroom over her mostly dry underwear. Then she carried her wet clothes in a bundle out of the bathroom only to see Tidus walking down the stairs in his boxers and a t-shirt, clutching his own wet clothes. Yuna swallowed almost audibly. He looked good like that. She pretended not to notice when he took a sidelong glance at her legs. Except for that once in Macalania, he had never actually seen her bare legs before.

          "Hey, Yuna," he said with a smile. "Auron set you up with some PJ's I guess?" She nodded, pulling the sleeves of the sweatshirt up—they were a bit too long. Then he opened a door that lead down a flight of steps: the basement.

          "Whatcha doin'?" She asked, glancing down.

          "You'll see," he said to her. He stuck his head a little through the door and yelled down, "Hey, Auron! Splat test!"

          "I'm listening," Aurons' voice came up from the basement.

          "What's a 'splat test'?" Yuna asked, frowning from confusion.

          "Throw your clothes down, see what kind of a sound it makes. I usually do it coming back from Blitz practice or a game."

          "What's the point?" She asked.

          "I dunno. It's fun," he said with a shrug. He balled up his shirt and tossed it down. It landed at the bottom of the stairs with a "whap" against the wall and floor.

          "Nice one," Auron yelled up.

          Next came his boxers, then his shorts, each making a loud splat at the bottom of the stairs. Each time, Auron made a comment about the sound and she found herself laughing at it.

          "This is what we did before we got cable," Tidus commented. This just made Yuna laugh more. "You have a try—your clothes are soaked anyway."

          "Okay," she said, still laughing. Her shirt came first, making a small "spak!" against the wall. Then she balled her jeans and threw them down, and they landed with a grand _"whap!" _on the floor below.

          "Whoever threw that I think has the best one yet," Auron said. "Whose was that, anyway?"

          "It was Yuna's!" Tidus yelled down.

          "So this is what you do when the cable goes out?" She asked.

          "Yea. It's kinda like a wet t-shirt contest, only better."

          Not too much later, they nearly fell asleep on the couch while talking, and Auron suggested that they go to bed.

          "Nuh-uh, Auron, you gotta go to bed first," Tidus mumbled, rubbing his eyes and squinting to try and see clearly again.

          "What?" Yuna asked, looked at him with a confused expression on her face.

          "I can't go to bed before he does… that's embarrassing! You realize he usually goes to bed at nine?"

          "Well you'll be up until well after midnight," Auron said. "I've got things to do and I'll be up for hours."

          Yuna glanced at Tidus and sighed. "I don't know what you want, but I'm rather tired. I'm going to bed," she told him, getting up.

          This made him get up. "I'll be a gentleman and walk you to your room, then."

          Hours passed, but Yuna couldn't grab sleep. She tossed in the bed, finally sitting up and looked at her watch. Two AM and she had probably gotten around an hour and a half of sleep the entire time. She sighed.

          "It's no use," she mumbled. "I'm not used to having a bed to myself. I miss Ursa and Spice." She knew Tidus was asleep in the next room and was tempted to try and bunk with him for the night, but she would feel bad about waking him up. She put her feet over the edge of the bed and rubbed her face tiredly. She knew there was no hope for her to fall asleep alone like this…

          Eventually, fatigue got to her and she tiptoed down the hall, noticing that the door to Tidus' room was still open slightly. She carefully pushed it open, wincing when it creaked a little, but no one inside stirred at all. She held her breath and walked closer to the bed where Tidus lay sleeping under a blanket and four cats.

          "Tidus?" She whispered. No reply. She got closer and tried again, a little louder. Still no reply. She tried a third time, closer, hovering right over him, and a little bit louder. "Tidus."

          She nearly leaped right out of her skin when he turned over to face her, mumbling in his sleep.

          "I don't wanna get off the shoopuf..."

          When he was facing her, he opened his eyes and squinted, trying to figure out who was in there with him.

          "You're either Yuna or that girl who used to live across the street from me in Zanarkand," he declared. "Which one are you?"

          "It's just me," Yuna said.

          "Yuna?" He pushed himself up on one arm. "What's up? What time is it?"

          She looked down at her feet and shamefully admitted, "Two in the morning. I—I couldn't sleep."

          "Bad dreams?" He asked, pulling a cat out from inside of his t-shirt.

          "No. I'm… I'm lonely," she said. "I'm not used to sleeping alone."

          "You've always got that station-wagon sized dog and a kitten that can take up a good three-quarters of a sofa, right?"

          She just nodded to this.

          Addressing the cats sleeping in his bed, Tidus began shuffling them with his legs and feet. "Okay boys, move over, we got company."

          "Are you sure you don't mind?" She asked shyly. She was grateful that he was doing this for her but she didn't want to be a burden.

          "Are you kidding?" He asked, moving himself over to make room for her. "I wanted to have this sleeping arrangement anyway except that Auron said no." Before she got a chance to answer to that, he quickly said, "But you're not leaving—no smashing my hopes!"

          "Thank you," Yuna said, smiling as she settled next to him. She was a little surprised when he gently put a hand on her hip and got closer to her.

          "Better?" He asked.

          "Much," she replied sleepily. "And you aren't panting all over my face like Ursa does."

          Just to spite her, Tidus started panting just inches from her face.

          "Cut that out," she murmured, folding her hands over her head. He complied.

          "Night, Yuna."

          With that, they both drifted off to sleep.

          Morning came, and Tidus made his way downstairs first, leaving Yuna to sleep a little while longer. By the time she got up, it was nine-thirty and at first she didn't remember where she was or how she'd gotten there, but then she remembered—she'd asked to stay with Tidus in his room when she got lonely. Now the room was empty. Tidus and the cats had all gone downstairs, but at least her clothes were at the foot of the bed. She never liked going downstairs in her PJs, especially at someone else's house.

          Once dressed, she headed downstairs and saw Tidus sitting at the kitchen table, still in his boxers and t-shirt. He'd made something out of a fork and a spoon and a butter knife and was firing grapes into the air and catching them in his mouth. All four cats were sitting around him and waiting anxiously for him to drop one.

          "Morning," Yuna said quietly. Tidus turned quicky and dropped a grape on the floor. One of the cats picked it up.

          "Morning, Yuna," he said. He beckoned her over with one hand. "Come on over and have a seat."

          "What are you doing?" She asked, watching as he placed a grape in the bowl of the spoon, and then pounded his fist on the handle, shooting it into the air and catching it in his mouth.

          "Having breakfast in a totally unorthodox manner," he replied. He did it again, and caught it in his mouth. Yuna watched him, taking a stem of grapes and tossing them into the air and catching them in her mouth.

          "How are you doing that?" She asked. "Doesn't it ever go somewhere else? Like fall in the wrong direction?"

          "Naw," he said, setting another catapult up. "Here, sit here, I'll show you." He got up, letting her seat herself in front of it. "All ya have to do is hit the handle and the grape flies up and then just catch it in your mouth like it you threw it."

          "Okay…" she said. When she hit the spoon handle, she tilted her head back to catch it, but it missed her mouth completely and went right down the front of her shirt. "It didn't work," she said without cracking a smile.

          With an equally bored expression, Tidus offered, "I can go get it for you and you can try again."

          "No thanks," she said, fishing into her shirt for herself to find the missing grape. She tried a second time, only to have to reach up and catch the grape with her hand.

          "No luck, huh?" He asked.

          "Nope. I squashed the grape," she said. Then she opened her hand, revealing grape guts and a little juice. "Maybe you should just do this, and I'll stick with eating in a more civilized way." With that, she ate the smashed grape off of her hand. When she noticed him looking at her, she smiled. "Manners are overrated."

          Eventually, Yuna mentioned that she would have to go home. Tidus nodded, and offered to go with her, but she refused. She knew Brother would be irate when she walked in, and Tidus being present would only provoke a fight.

          Instead, she went home alone, intent on a shower and some new clothes. She unlocked the front door and quietly walked inside. It didn't look like anyone was up and she sighed her relief. Maybe if she was quiet about it, she could shower, get dressed, eat, and leave before Brother got up. She put her keys down and went into the kitchen. To her horror, Brother was asleep with his head on his arms at the table. He'd stayed up all night waiting for her.

          "Oh, shit…" she growled. Now what? She quietly tried sneaking around him to get to the basement so that she could pick up her clean clothes, but she bumped into a chair and knocked it over.

          _"Yuna?__ Ec dryd oui?"_ ["Yuna, is that you?"]

          Yuna winced. Busted.

          "Yes, Brother, it's me."

          He immediately sprang from his seat, knocking the chair back and lurching forward to hug her. She jumped back and moved out of the way so that he couldn't.

          "Brother, chill out! Calm down, look, I'm back in once piece, safe and sound, you can stop harassing me now!"

          "What happen to you? What does he do?" Brother seemed almost completely out of reality. He lived under the delusion that Tidus wanted Yuna for her body and no more, and her staying at his house for the night had just about shoved him over the edge of reality into his own realm of inasnity.

          "Nothing happened!" She yelled, dodging him a second time. "Look, it was raining last night and it was too dangerous for me to drive back home in the rain and the thunder and the lightning so I stayed the night! Nothing happened!"

          "Where did you sleep? On a couch?"

          "No, I bunked with TIdus when I got lonely—" immediately, she covered her mouth. She wished passionately and more than anything else in the world at that moment that she could either rewind time and stop herself from saying that, or else she could simply vanish into thin air. Too late—she noticed Brothers eyes get as wide as turkey platters.

          "You… sleeping with the blonde boy?" He stuttered. _"What does he do to you? Did he take you? No! Don't tell me!"_ He pulled on his boots from the back door and grabbed his car keys. "I go to get him myself—no one will take Yuna from me! Nobody! He will pay for this!"

          Realizing the immediate danger that Tidus would be in if she let Brother get out the door, she ran and locked the door, putting the key down the front of her shirt.

          "Nothing happened, I swear it! You have my word!" She begged. Brother was stronger than most people chose to believe, and there were times that Yuna truly believed that he did not know his own strength.

          "Yuna is too nice to him. He does not love you like I do. He took your revenge from you!" He made a move for the door again.

          Yuna bit her lower lip. Leave it to Brother to totally screw up a common phrase.

          "Brother, _please,_ I'm not asking anymore, I'm _begging—_please don't hurt him! He hasn't done anything! Nothing happened! Just leave him alone!"

          He was on his way to the door with his own key even with Yuna hanging onto his waist and trying to pull him back. It was no good—he was too big for her to hold back by force, and words were definitely not working. Especially because he didn't understand some of them.

          _"E'mm gemm res!"_ ["I'll kill him!"]

          "Brother, stop it!" She yelled. When he turned around to look at her, she brought her right hand back and punched him dead in the face. He fell over, howling in pain.

          "What's all the noise down here?" Cid grumbled, coming downstairs in his clothes from the previous day. He'd slept in his clothes again. He saw Brother standing there clutching his eye, and Yuna clutching her fist and put the pieces together.

          "I know it's cliché, but I swear I didn't mean to do it," Yuna said quietly. "He was saying stuff like he was gonna hurt Tidus because I spent the night, and then I just…" she trailed off. Cid didn't _look_ angry, but with her stoic Al Bhed uncle, it was really impossible to tell.

          _"You _did this?" He asked, shocked. She nodded shamefully. Then, to her surprise, Cid began to laugh. "It's about time _someone_ hit him! Way to go, Yuna-girl!" He howled with laughter, draping himself over the banister so he would not tumbled down the stairs.

          "You mean you aren't mad?"

          "Hell no!" He yelled. "I'm surprised it took this long for you to do it!" He got his wind back and straightened himself upright. "Okay, boy, I'll take you into the kitchen and get some ice for that eye. What'd I tell you about Yuna? I told you she was gonna go berserk one day and deck ya one! Yuna, you go upstairs and shower and change clothes. Boy, you stay down here and don't bother her anymore or she's gonna give you a two for the price of one shiner!"

          Yuna stumbled back up the stairs, and realized what had happened. She'd punched her cousin. And no one was angry at her. Unfortunately, her hand was throbbing and further inspection showed that it was bruised pretty badly. She couldn't imagine the black eye that Brother was going to have in a few minutes.

          Quickly, she showered and changed clothes, sitting on the edge of her bed and nursing her hand. Someone appeared at her door.

          "Hey, Yunie," Rikku said. She was still in her PJ's.

          "Hey, Rikku. What's up?"

          "I heard my dad talking about you downstairs with Brother."

          Yuna looked down at her feet, a little embarrassed.

          "Whatcha lookin' embarrassed about?" Rikku asked, picking her way through the mess in her room to sit next to her on the bed. "I was sure you'd do it before now. I'm glad you did it though. He's been on about you for _ever."_

          Yuna smiled. She was glad no one was mad at her. She didn't regret what she'd done, either. It felt damned good. "So where's Gippal? Didn't you say he was spending the night?"

          "Yea he's—"

          Before she got the chance to answer, Gippal came strolling past her bedroom door in his underwear.

          "Hey, Yuna," he said. "Decked Brother one, didn't you?" She nodded. "I'm glad. I'd've done it myself except my mother taught me that it's not nice to hit girls," he told her with a wink.

          Rikku left shortly after, and Yuna wandered down to the backyard, sitting in the hammock as she watched Ursa chase squirrels. Her hand had stopped throbbing but it still hurt to bend her fingers. Brother was in worse shape. His eye was bloodshot and the bruise around it was a nice blue-purple color.

          As she dozed off in the late-morning sun, a thought crossed her mind:

          Maybe she wasn't as helpless as she'd always thought.

Okay, another chapter done! The "two-chapter-and-epilogue" won, and it kinda works better anyway. I chose this title because Yuna finally gets to be herself after all the years she's been afraid of Seymour. Now he's not there to make her life miserable and she can do things that she wants to do. I planned on putting something else in with this chapter but it didn't work, so the next chapter will have it, which is just as good because it fits in perfectly with what I was gonna do to Yuna. You'll know when you see it. Please be nice to me and review!

Also—what do you people think about a sequel? Lemmie know. I'm playing with the idea but I'm not sure. The sequel would deal mainly with Tidus and Yuna and college life. Lucky for me I have a source. DEPLORA.           


	18. Lost and Found

Well, here I am, my darlings. Writing my story once again. I know where this chapter is going but unfortunately I have no idea how to start it, so I'll probably be going back and changing the beginning a thousand and two times before I finally get one that I like. But the rest of the chapter I pretty much know what I wanna do, but brace yourself for a long one… or longer than usual, anyway, seeing as my chapters have averaged 4000 words or more. Enough of my blabbering… allow me to get to writing.

Disclaimer: If I have to disclaim these characters one more time I believe I may actually succeed in blowing the top of my head off.

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Chapter 17

Lost and Found

Yuna decided that staying after school and _not _being terrified out of her mind was _definitely_ a new emotion for her. She hadn't had much of a choice this time—she had a test to make up and a project to finish and she couldn't get _both_ in during her lunch period. She sighed, hunched over a book about the mythical monster called Sin. Normally things like this fascinated her, but as of right now, facts about it were practically pouring out of her ears and more than anything she wanted to up and leave the library and go home.

She began to slump and fall asleep with her head up on her fist when she dimly heard the librarian behind her murmuring, "Miss? Are you finished?"

A groan escaped her throat as she jolted awake and cleared her vision. She wasn't totally done, but for now it would have to do. She didn't think she'd be able to stand another hour in the library.

"I think so," she said, stuffing her papers back into her bag and standing up. One of her feet was asleep because she'd been sitting on it. Silently, she trudged back to the front of the school.

Graduation was in about two weeks. Senior exams were in only a few days but they never worried her. She passed exams before and she never studied for them. Rikku had repeatedly said, "I hate you," to her about her abilities to pass tests without any studying.

Speaking of Rikku… was she here? She hadn't mentioned staying after school today, but Yuna thought she could hear her cousin speaking Al Bhed. Due to her lack of linguistic skills, Yuna had no idea what she was saying. Instead she followed the voice and managed to track her cousin down. She was sitting on some stairs talking to Wakka and Tidus. Both boys had wet hair, suggesting that they'd used the sphere pool after school.

"Hey, it's Yunie!" She heard Rikku yip. "Come on over here, Yuna, come talk to us!"

Yuna did so, a little confused about why Wakka was standing there listening to someone speak Al Bhed. Then again, he'd found out that Rikku was Al Bhed and had remained friends with her despite his hostilities to them.

"What's going on here?" She asked, leaning on the wall.

"Rikku's talking dirty in Al Bhed and we're trying to figure out what she's saying," Tidus said with a wink in her direction.

"No, no, no, no! I was just trying to teach them a few basic things, that's all!" She yelped in her defense.

"I wasn't going to say anything," Yuna told her, waving her off airily. "Why're all of you here after hours? I had a project to read up on."

"Wakka and me were practicing blitz in the sphere pool. Wakka's got into BIU on a blitz scholarship!" Tidus said, smacking his friend on the back between his shoulder blades, making him cough up some soda. "Sorry…"

"Just warn me next time, ya? Or just don' smack me when I'm drinkin' anything!" He snorted and cleared his throat.

"I just stayed after because no one interesting would be at home, and I figured it'd be more fun to hang around here and wait for you guys to get out," Rikku admitted with a small smile.

"We're the most interesting people you know?" Yuna asked. "Wow, I feel sorry for you."

Tidus snorted and started to laugh and Wakka choked on his soda again. Yuna's lips curled up in a smile.

"I've found what appears to be a bunch of little lost puppies," a voice said behind them. They all recognized it as Lulu.

"Lu, what're you doin' here? You didn't mention stayin' after," Wakka said, frowning. He didn't go over to hug her, since he had learned long ago about what Lulu thought of being affectionate in public.

"I was held up in my last class. I don't know why I'm still taking these complicated math courses, they've never made much sense to me and all they ever do is give me headaches." She sighed, and glanced around the corner to check if anyone was coming.

"No one's here, Lulu," Yuna told her. "You can wake it up."

"Thank you," she said, flapping her dress until a little blue Space doll flopped to the floor. Clumsily, it tried to regain its' little feet until Lulu lifted it up and held it on her arm. "I like to let them out as soon as possible. I feel sorry for making them stay there all day, but I feel even worse when I'm unarmed."

"It doesn't really bother me anymore, ya," Wakka said. "I've gotten used to it. It's somethin' normal for me now." He shrugged. Apparently over the last few months since he'd started dating Lulu, he had come to learn and understand a great deal about magic and mages and discovered that the Yevon Catholic perception of a witch was different than the mages born with magical abilities. Yuna and Lulu were both somewhat taken back by the fact that he'd accepted it so quickly.

"So d'you guys wanna wander out of here or wander around the building and _then_ leave?" Rikku asked, breaking the brief silence.

"Either one is fine with me," Tidus said with a shrug.

Walking and talking at the same time, they found themselves standing in a long, empty hallway with a freshly cleaned floor. Tidus stopped in his tracks and stared down the length of it with a goofy little grin on his face. Suddenly, he dropped his backpack on the floor and sat down, tugging off his yellow and black boots.

"Tidus, what are you doing?" Wakka asked.

"Uh, lets see… empty hallway, and socks. You know what that means don't you?"

No one answered. They were looking at him oddly, standing there in his socks, and he was looking at them oddly, passing up such an opportunity.

"You guys have never done this before?" He asked.

"Done _what?"_ Rikku asked, confusion evident in her face and tone.

Tidus sighed, and took a few steps back and got a running start, and then sliding a distance on the floor. "Free-range sock skating! I used to do this all the time in Zanarkand."

Everyone was looking at him as if he'd lost his mind.

"You guys are so boring…" he murmured, taking another running start and sliding again, this time further.

"Hey, who're you calling boring?" Rikku yelled. With that, she, too, took her shoes off and started sliding across the floor. Even Wakka joined them, leaving Yuna and Lulu standing at the side of the hallway, watching them.

"They certainly look like they're having fun," Lulu said.

"Yea, they do, don't they?" Yuna said, watching them. Tidus and Rikku were the goofy type—the stereotypical blondes. Wakka was mostly serious but he knew when he could cut loose and have some fun.

Yuna merely watched them, not feeling comfortable joining them but having a good laugh just looking. It felt good to smile. She wasn't scared anymore. An alien feeling to her, but nonetheless, a good one.

She was jolted from her thoughts when someone bashed into her shins. Tidus. She looked down at him and bit her lips to try not to laugh.

"Hi! I didn't do that on purpose, I swear," he said, pushing himself up and bushing his shorts off. "Come join us." He extended his hand.

Smiling, Yuna shook her head. "No thanks, I'll just watch."

"Come on, Yunie!" Rikku called. "It's fun!" She took another slide and hit a soda machine.

"Hurting yourself constitutes 'fun'?" Lulu asked, raising her eyebrows slightly.

"You don't wanna join in, Lu?" Wakka asked. She gave him a withering look and he shrugged. "I knew you'd say no, but I figured I'd ask anyway." He slid away and slipped on the floor, crashing into the soda machine.

"Come on, Yuna. Don't make me drag you!" Tidus started pulling on her arms. "Come on! Please?"

"Hey, stop pulling or I'll fall over," she tugged back, but instead of letting her go, he lifted her up and slung her over his shoulder and held onto her legs. She gripped the back of his shirt of dear life. "What are you _doing?"_ She hissed.

"I've got my Princess Charming, so I guess I'll just be on my way home, now," he said, slipping his boots back on and picking up his backpack.

"Tidus, you're cutting off the circulation in my legs," she said. He ignored her and she wasn't sure if he'd even heard her. "Tidus?" she said louder. No reply. "Tidus, I know you can hear me, put me down!" He kept walking. "Put me _down!"_ She growled. When he ignored her again, she whacked him on the butt.

"Hey!" He stopped walking and put her down. "Aren't you frisky," he murmured quietly.

"Whatcha do that for anyway?" She asked, looking him square in the eye. His lips crashed down on hers.

"Because I knew you wouldn't let me do that while someone else was watching," he admitted. He draped his arm over her shoulders.

"You're insane," she told him.

"Yes, I know," he said back. "But you like that about me. Go ahead, admit it!"

"Of course I like your lunacy. It makes me feel considerably smarter. And more mature. And a bit more collected. And less obnoxious." She grinned at his mortified expression—he thought she was serious. "I also like your gullibility."

"Lets talk about _your_ other personality traits for a minute, Yuna," he growled.

"Hey, whatcha talkin' about over there, huh?" They hear Rikku yell. Yuna winced.

"I hate her sense of timing," she growled. Lulu and Wakka also appeared behind Rikku. Lulu had picked up her backpack and was dragging it behind her.

"Yuna, in case you'd forgotten, I've already asked you to help me plant flowers," the mage said. Yuna could sense there was something else that her friend wanted from the tone in her voice, so she nodded.

"Sorry, I did tell her I'd help," she said to Tidus apologetically. "I'll see you later tonight, all right?" She kissed his cheek and trotted off to get her backpack from Lulu.

Yuna began the walk home with Lulu, feeling a bit peeved that her friend had interrupted her and made her leave.

"So what's this all about, Lulu? What's going on? Why'd you ask me to leave—you knew I'd've come home with you whenever we left," she said.

"Yuna, I had to talk to you is all and I need to do it private without letting anyone else on," she said. She often played the "older sister" role to Yuna, even though they were only a few months apart. "Besides that, it's been quite some time since the last time we've talked like this. We don't walk home together a lot anymore and since we've both got boyfriends now, we don't really spend a lot of time alone together."

Yuna nodded. Before she'd gotten to know Tidus and before she'd stopped being such an introvert, she and Lulu had been near constant companions, and while sometimes they had fights, they were always close friends. She felt a bit guilty about not spending enough time with her—after all, Lulu was the one who made her tell someone her problem to begin with.

"So you're feeling a lot better these days, I see," the mage commented again on Yuna's radical change from being quiet and very antisocial to spending a lot of time with Tidus, Rikku, and sometimes even Wakka. "Getting out on your own. Doing things. Seeing people."

Yuna felt a pang of guilt.

"I'm glad, honestly," Lulu surprised her by saying. "Truly, I am. For so long I was the one person you could confide in. And now, you've spread your wings. And I'm very happy that your experience with Seymour Guado hasn't deterred you from Tidus. He's a catch. Of all the people you could have been with, I'm glad it was him."

Bicolored eyes opened wide. It was unexpected for Lulu to talk like this. Then again, she hadn't had a heart-to-heart in a long time. "Thank you, Lulu. Your approval means a lot to me. I didn't think you liked him at all, though."

"I didn't at first, you're right," she admitted. "I thought he was a bit immature, a bit of an idiot. But then… then you got to know him, and so did I. He turned out to be sweet, just trying to make you happy. And that's what you need, Yuna. Someone to make you happy."

"Isn't that what you need, too?" She asked with a smile, thinking of the times she'd seen Lulu drop her defenses and smile when Wakka said or did something silly.

"What I need is someone who is tolerant of both magic and cynicism," she said shortly, turning her gaze forwards again.

"And you found one."

"Yes, I did."

Yuna snickered a little bit. She'd half expected Lulu to give her one of her withering looks. "I think I hear the pitter-patter of little feet."

"Yuna, stop that. I'm eighteen. Too soon for me to be thinking about that."

"No, seriously. I hear the pitter-patter of little feet," she motioned towards her friends' runaway Space doll. "Look, it got away."

"Come back here and stop playing in traffic!" Lulu yelled, pulling her dress up and running to catch the Space doll before it got hit by a car.

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Graduation was in a few days. Yuna wasn't thinking about it much, or she _hadn't_ been, until Kimahri had come to stay with her so he could come and see. He and Cid were butting heads constantly, arguing about everything they could, and when there was nothing to argue about, they argued in order to find something.

Yuna sat on her front porch, listening to the bugs chirping, and staring into the sky. It was hard to believe how much had changed since this time last year. She remembered the raw terror she had felt when Kimahri told her that he was going to have to serve his tribe on Gagazet for a while, and that she would have to come with him. Although she was uncomfortable here in Besaid with the state of things, she wasn't ready to move. She had never taken changes well unless it was her idea. She didn't want to go to Gagazet and she _really_ didn't want to have to go live with Rikku and Cid and Brother in Bikanel. So after about three weeks of arguing, long-distance phonecalls, and a considerable amount of begging, the arrangements were made and things ended up the way they were now.

Soon, the arguing from inside was beginning to drown out the sounds _outside,_ and she got fed up. She knew Cid and Kimahri were two very different personalities, but she didn't think they'd be at each others' throats like this constantly.

"Of course they would be… after all, what _I_ want is peace and quiet!" She heaved a sigh and lowered herself to lay down on the concrete step and closed her eyes. Maybe she could just go _out_ for dinner tonight…

"Hey, Yuna."

She sat upright, bashing foreheads with someone. She turned around to see who it was—blonde hair and an eye-patch came into view. Gippal.

"Don't _scare me like that!"_ She yelled, putting a hand of her forehead where she'd hit it. "If you're looking for Rikku, she's inside trying to stop Cid from fighting with Kimahri."

"Is _that_ what I heard over the phone? It sounded like someone had a wrestling match turned up too high." He looked at the door, trying to see inside, but the yelling explained a lot.

Yuna turned over so she was on her stomach. They were still at it. She had no idea what they were arguing about and she doubted that _they_ even remembered what they were arguing about. She was actually quite ready for graduation, just so that Kimahri could get back to Gagazet and things could resume as normal around here.

Rikku appeared at the door. "Hey, Gippal. I'm sorry about all of this but I've gotta get out of here before they drag me into it."

Yuna watched her cousin leave and stared back into the house. It had gotten quieter, so she assumed that Kimahri and Cid had stopped—for now.

"Whatcha lookin' at?"

Again, she jumped, turning to her right to see that Tidus had taken a seat on her front porch and was looking in through the front door.

_"Why_ does everyone feel the need to frighten me?" She asked with one hand over her heart.

"It wasn't on purpose," he said. "What's goin' on in there?"

Yuna sighed. "Kimahri and Cid were fighting. I think they're giving it a rest for now."

_"Still?"_ He asked. He'd heard an argument in the background on the phone a few days before. He had no idea that they'd fight like that. "I guess this means I should rescue you, huh?"

"Maybe… then again, it's not like I'm in any real danger."

"Yuna, who is that with you? That better had not be who I think is!" Brothers' screeching voice came from an upstairs window.

"I, however, _am,"_ Tidus murmured. From inside, he could hear someone stampeding down the stairs and pushing open the front door.

"What are you doing to Yuna?"

Yuna took a deep breath. Several. She hated it when Brother did things like this. _"Brother if you don't get out of my sight by the time I count to three, I will not be held responsible for my actions!"_

"But Yuna, I just look after you—"

_"NOW!"_ She pointed to the door and glared at him until he backed down.

As soon as Brother had disappeared, Tidus looked at her. "You were right. You really _are_ a bitch when you deal with family members." He paused. "And for someone who's always so quiet, you could break a window with that scream."

They sat together for a while, just talking quietly and occasionally looking back to see if they were being spied on. Satisfied that they were relatively alone, Yuna got up the courage to ask him.

"Any news?"

He paused. "Yea, a little. They've just looked through his car and stuff," he said. "To see if he wasn't going to do something dangerous. They found a lot of personal records on you—it's how he found out about your being half Al Bhed, _and _about how you're a mage. You know, classified stuff."

"How did he get it?" She asked.

"Bribery I think. They also found a pair of binoculars and bunch of photographs of you in the glove compartment. School photos, and a lot of candid shots he must've taken while spying on you." He sighed heavily. "I still can't believe he was trying to blackmail you with your own bloodline."

"People hated me already," she said quietly. "The knowledge of me being a _halfblood_ would only have made things worse for me. He was trying to make it so that my _only_ alternative would have been to move in with him. Rumors spread fast… maybe he just mentioned once that I'm a witch and it snowballed from there…" she took a shuddery breath. "It was him. This entire time, it was _him."_ She clenched her fists at her sides. Things were falling into place. Seymour Guado was the reason that she had been miserable all these years. He'd made _sure_ that she wouldn't fit in. He made _sure_ that people would despise her. He'd made _sure_ that she would have been so miserable and lonely by this time that she would have _no alternative_ but to leave school and live with him.

But instead of crying, she thought of something. Was it Lulu who had told her in the past, "People fear what they know nothing about. If you take away the haze, then you take away the fear, and the menace is gone." People here hated her because she was a mage and because she was half Al Bhed. But… what if they learned that there was nothing to fear of either? What if they knew that mages walked among them all the time, without scorn or contempt or a demon on a leash? What if they learned that the Al Bhed were regular people, who lived much the same as they did? What if they learned—

"Hey, Yuna, you okay?" Tidus gently shook her by the shoulder.

"Huh?"

"You looked like you were in a trance. What were you thinking about?"

"People need to know the truth," she said finally. "I hate being despised for who and what I am, and I don't want anyone else to live like this." Besaid was such an isolated little island that the majority of the people here still lived as if time had stood still for the last fifty years. Gender roles were mostly the same, the importance of religion, and the hatred of anyone who did not practice the Yevon Catholic faith.

"So what're you gonna do about it?" He asked. He was glad that Yuna wasn't going to hide away in her shell anymore, but he was also a little taken aback by her sudden need to talk to the world. At his question, her head immediately sank.

"Well, that didn't last long, did it?" Despite the disappointed look on her face, her voice held some humor. She felt him put an arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Yuna. You'll think of something. You can do just about anything."

"You really think so?" She asked.

"Definitely," he said.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Two more days to graduation. And people were playing senior pranks at every opportunity they got. Cellophane across open doorways, toilet-papered trees in the front of the school, books in the library all flipped backwards, and someone had loosed two dozen chickens in the school. But the best prank went to Tidus and Wakka, who went to school early one day, took out the metal dividing poles between the double-doors in the front entrance, and drove Tidus' car into the building and parked it in front of the office. The teachers were all laughing too hard at them and enjoyed their creativity so much that they didn't have the heart to get them in trouble for it.

Yuna was staying after school every day, trying to finish up last-minute projects and sorting through the back room where unclaimed projects were kept and throwing most of them out. When the shelves were clean, she gathered up all of the clay that had been fermenting in a water-filled trash can for the last week and wedged it until it was solid, folding them into plastic bags for the next school year.

By the time this task was complete, her hands and arms nearly up to her elbows were covered in white clay. She sighed and went to clean her hands.

"Hey, Yunie," Rikku said, walking into the room with Tidus behind her. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Just cleaning up, now," she said. "Clay dried on my hands."

"You look like a limestone statue from the elbows down," Tidus commented, leaning forward next to her at the sink.

"Does that mean you want to take me home and prop me up on a fountain?" She asked smartly.

He thought about that for a second. "Well I don't have a fountain, but I could prop you up in my bathtub. Would that work?"

Yuna stood looking at him strangely for a moment before shaking her head and sighing.

"Hey, Tidus, I think you finally got her to where she can't say anything!" Rikku said happily. "My cousin is speechless! Yahoo!"

"And your father wonders why I beat up on you the way I do," she snorted. Tidus was laughing at the comment. She patted him on the behind, leaving behind a white handprint on his black shorts.

"Thanks, Yuna," he tried to wipe it off but it only made it worse. "You know, most _normal_ girls just leave hickeys."

"I know, but where's the fun in that?" She asked, washing her hands and drying them on her pants. "Can you two lunatics stay in here and not hurt yourselves while I go and stash these last bags of clay in the art supply room?" She picked up the remaining two bags that wouldn't fit in the closet in the classroom.

"I suppose if we _have_ to we can be alone and not do anything stupid," he said, sitting up on a table.

"I'll be gone for five minutes. Just… I dunno, name your toes or something until I get back." With that she left the room with the key to the art supply room in her teeth and a huge bag of clay on either hip.

The art supply room was a closet with a window on the door located halfway down the hall from the art room itself. She juggled the two bags and unlocked the door, holding the keys around her neck. She pulled the chain for the light, and then found a place for the new bags of clay and sealed them up. That done, she brushed her hands off and turned to leave, but the door was closed. She frowned. Hadn't she left if open when she came in? Maybe it closed on its own. She thought nothing of it and went to leave.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Yuna Bamarre."

Yuna froze in place, going ice cold and hot all at once. She knew that voice. She hoped she was dreaming. She _had_ to be dreaming. She got her breathing under control and opened her eyes, looking around. Standing in front of the door was Seymour, with a look in his eyes and she had _never_ seen before.

"You thought you had it well off, now that I was gone, didn't you?" He asked, stepping closer to her. She backed up instinctively. She didn't want him to touch her. "You thought that I was gone for good. You thought that you would live your 'happily ever after' and I would be something of the past."

Without a word, she narrowed her eyes to show her resolve. He'd terrified her before, but she would _not_ allow him to scare her this time. Not after she'd done so much to get him to leave her alone.

"You're being brave, Yuna, but I know it won't last."

She took a deep, shaky breath. "It was you. All these years I thought everyone hated me for being a mage, it was _you._ You made them think I was a _witch_ and you made sure that I'd be miserable. You _wanted_ me to be this way. You thought you could make me an easy target."

"So… you've finally found me out." He showed no remorse as he spoke. "Yes, it was me. Or partly me, and partly the prejudice of this island. The Yevon Catholic image of a witch."

"But I'm stronger than that. I'll _never_ sink that low!" She held her ground, but was uncertain what she would do. She had to get out of here. If she could just get out of the door long enough to _scream_ someone would come running.

"Ah, but do you _really_ think that? Or are you just playing hard-to-get?" He smiled and reached for her. She lunged forward to bite his hand but he pulled it away and she slapped him.

"Leave me alone!"

He stayed turned to the side, with a hand on the bruise on his cheek. Then he grinned wickedly and slapped her back, making her take a few steps backwards. Eyes wide, she realized that Seymour was no longer a teacher and she wasn't protected by the prospect of him losing his job. She was completely vulnerable.

She reached to hit him again, and he caught her by the wrist and bent her arm behind her back, making her cry out.

"You've reached my last nerve, Miss Bamarre. Now you'll see what the price to pay is." He forcefully backed her onto a table, bending her back against it and making her lower back hurt. He forced his lips on hers, snaking his tongue into her mouth. She bit down _hard_ until she tasted blood and he pulled back and hit her again, this time harder.

When she flailed again, he caught her free hand, pining her back against the table with one hand and working at her shirt with the other, and Yuna realized something.

_'I'm scared,'_ she thought. _'Scared… scared…'_

"Leave off!" She yelled, biting his neck until she could taste blood, but he did not stop. He wouldn't stop. He knew what he wanted and he would get it even if it killed him. He was already sentenced to a prison sentence. He'd been allowed to go back and get his things from his classroom but he'd waited where he knew Yuna would be alone. This wouldn't do anything worse. He was already fucked, he may as well get what he came for.

She crossed her legs firmly and made sure he wouldn't be able to get into her pants. It was all she could think to do now. Dimly, she heard her shirt tear and felt cold air on her bare skin.

_'I'm scared… so scared… so frightened…'_

"I'm gonna go look for her. She's been gone an awful long time," Tidus said, sliding off the table and heading for the door. Somehow, he had a funny feeling in his stomach and he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Okay, if Yunie comes back I'll tell her," Rikku said. After a pause she, too, slid off the table and followed him. "Hey, wait, I'm coming too!"

They walked towards the art supply room and heard some scuffling inside from a distance. Tidus swore he heard someone yelling inside, but his suspicions were confirmed when he came close to the door.

There was an obvious struggle inside. One voice he knew as Yuna, struggling to make sounds to attract attention; the other he was pretty sure was Seymour Guado. He reached hurriedly for the door, but it was locked.

"Rikku, go get help," he told his companion. Rikku, eyes wide, turned stiffly and did as she was told, running down the halls to find someone. Tidus once again turned his attentions towards the door, now frightened. After listening to the ruckus inside, he knew for a fact that Yuna was locked in there with Seymour, and he felt sickeningly helpless out here by himself.

The narrow window caught his eye. About six inches wide and eighteen inches high, if he could break it, he could open the door from the inside. He quickly stripped off his shirt and wrapped it around his arm to protect it and took a swing at the window as hard as he could, putting a huge crack in it but not breaking it. The sounds inside quieted briefly, and he tightened his fist and resecured the shirt around his arm. He punched it again, putting two more cracks in it but still not breaking it.

He heard a feral screech and a loud "smack" from inside, followed by a second "smack" and a female voice crying out in pain. He hit the glass one more time, breaking it all the way up to the top, and shoved open the door. The broken glass had torn his shirt and scratched up his arm in several places, and it stung but he ignored it. Glass had sprayed several feet ahead of him in large and small pieces.

Instinctively, Seymour turned when the door was opened, but Yuna was pinned against the table, unable to get up. Her shirt had been torn off and lay discarded on the floor by Seymour's feet. He glared at him while she gave him a pitiful, pleading look. When Seymour turned his attention briefly back to Yuna, Tidus knelt and grabbed a shard of glass. So much for a knight in shining armor…

"Reina, you've interfered for the last time," Seymour hissed. He knocked Yuna back against the table and turned to face Tidus, an icy look on his face. He slowly reached a hand in front of him and it began to glow green, which he recognized as a trait of black magic.

"You're a…" Tidus frowned. "A mage." He nearly dropped his glass shard—his only weapon, but he kept his hold on it. It's not like it would help him, though.

Yuna recovered herself and saw what was happening in front of her. She had to do something to stop him before he loosed the spell on Tidus… but what? She rose to her knees on the table and slid her belt off from around her waist, and wrapped it around both hands. In a flash, her hands were on either side of his neck, the belt strangling him. He gasped and choked, the spell disintegrating. He turned quickly to throw her balance off, but she leaped onto his back, keeping her legs around his waist and thrusting her heels into his groin as she pulled back on the belt. Tighter and tighter and tighter…

_WHUMP._

Yuna found herself on the floor, still grasping both ends of her belt and quite confused. Seymour was face down on the floor, his face a little purple. But when she took the belt away, he turned slowly back to his normal, pallid color. He'd hit his head on the table on his way down, splitting the skin above his left eyebrow.

Three teachers appeared at the door, Rikku behind them, looking scared and shocked and relieved all at once. Somebody led her from the closet and gave her a sweatshirt to put on over her bra, since her shirt was shredded.

"Yuna?" Tidus stood in front of her grasping her shoulders, looking worriedly into her eyes. "Yuna, say something. Anything."

She took a breath and exhaled slowly. The knowledge that Tidus had saved her along with the fear at what _had_ happened and what _would have_ happened made her choke slightly, tears welling in her eyes.

"I'm… scared. Oh, God, Tidus, I'm so scared. What could've happened? You… oh, God…" She buried her face in her hands and sank to her knees, crying softly. He knelt beside her, his uninjured arm around her shoulders, comforting her. Eventually, she stopped crying, and by that time, two men had taken Seymour away on a stretcher, and a familiar man in a uniform came forward.

"I was afraid of this," Auron said, looking down at Yuna, who had stopped crying but was still shivering. "I told them not to let him in here but they did anyway. I am sorry, Yuna, I should have made them listen."

She looked up at him with red, watery eyes. Her face was beginning to surface bruises, as well as her shoulders and her arms and her upper back, from where he had grabbed her and slapped her around. She looked back at Tidus, who was using his shirt to stop the blood from dripping onto the floor, now that the cuts had opened further. She looked over and Rikku who was hurriedly and apparently not very coherently giving some details to an officer.

Then she looked at the men carrying Seymour off. Even unconscious, Seymour frightened her. The scene from moments before was fresh in her mind, the feel of his slimy lips on hers and his tongue in her mouth, his hands roaming her body as she screamed for someone to help her. She could feel the dull throb in her hands from the many times she'd hit him and she still clutched her belt in on hand. Everything hit her at once, and she wasn't sure what had happened next, but later someone told her that she'd fainted, but she didn't even remember hitting the ground.

/./././././././././././././././././././././../././././././././././././././././././

Longer chapter than most of my others! I told you it would be longer, and I'm glad I've finally gotten it out of the way. I'll make longer notes the next chapter, but I will say this—the thing with the VW Beetle in the building was a stunt my mom's friend pulled in high school. That's why I gave Tidus the bug. Hehehe. Anyway, I leave you here since I really have to go, but I do wanna get this posted. Please review and make me happy!

P.S: Thanks to Deplora. She made me update.

P.P.S: For whatever reason my scene breaks didn't show up! So I reloaded this chapter, put in NEW scene breaks and I hope that they work. If they don't then I'll try it again. Sorry if this caused any confusion! It sure as hell made ME upset!


	19. Epilogue

Okay, people… this is it. The long-awaited epilogue of my story. I hope you all liked this story as much as you _say_ you do, and I also hope you enjoy my ending. I am still playing with the idea of making a sequel but I do want to know who says "yes" to that idea and who thinks that a sequel wouldn't be as good. Just let me know in a review.

Note to "Past Obsession": Yes, I read "Speak" as well. I really loved that book, but at the time I was writing that scene, I hadn't really remembered that part of it until you brought it up. Maybe my subconscious did it! I just thought it was a fitting scene.

Disclaimer: For goodness sake, people, can't you take a hint by now?

/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/

Epilogue

It was July. It had been almost three weeks since the final incident with Seymour, and Yuna was confident that she would never see him again. He had been tried and sentenced to thirty years, in a prison in Guadosalam. Tidus had gotten a total of thirteen stitches in the four cuts on his arms from breaking that window with his fist, so most of his forearm was wrapped up in a gauze bandage for the last few weeks.

Cicadas chirped lazily in the sunset as Yuna relaxed in her back yard, absently petting her dog. Lulu had been at her house earlier, and had left a late graduation gift before she had to leave to meet Wakka. She smiled to herself. Lulu had actually stayed with Wakka, which half surprised her and half didn't. In any case, she was glad that things had worked out the way that they did with them—and that Wakka had finally put aside his religious prejudice to get the girl he'd had his eye on for ages.

She stretched her arms out in front of her, and looked at the bracelet that Kimahri had given her, from her parents. A simple silver chain with two charms hanging from it: a hawk and a dove. There had also been a letter with the bracelet that he had given her, written by her mother, dated about two moths before the day of the car accident that had killed both of her parents. It was obviously written with the idea that they were not going to be around to see their daughter grow up, but it said that they were proud of her no matter what path she took. There was a photograph as well, a picture of her and both parents. She remembered that picture being taken, when she had just turned six.

Kimahri had gone back to Gagazet about a week ago, and things had settled down considerably. Her long-time guardian surprised her the day of her graduation by giving her gifts from both himself and several of the tribe members who had known her since she was very young. She had not known that so many people cared for her the way they did.

Next to her on the deck was a copy of that days' newspaper. The article she had intended to write for the school paper never actually got published in the school paper. Instead, the Journalism teacher had contacted the editors office of the Besaid paper, asking if an editor could come and look at this article. Long story short, it was published in the Besaid paper, and thousands of people read it and, hopefully, understood the hardships that people like her lived through, because of something that they had absolutely no control over.

She lowered herself backwards and stared at the sky, hands behind her head. Since she was leaving for college in a month or so, Cid, Brother, and Rikku were staying at the house here in Besaid. Rikku had grown accustomed to the school and general life on the island and she discovered that she liked it much more than the war-torn and secluded Bikanel. And she didn't want to go back to being schooled at the Al Bhed Home again. Yuna had been accepted to an art school in the Moonflow, and the entire campus was actually built on bridges over the water. She was looking forward to going.

At the thought of leaving for college, she drooped a little bit. She was happy to be out on her own, but she was afraid of just that—being on her own. Rikku was still in high school, so she wouldn't have her obnoxiously loud cousin by her side. Lulu was staying in Besaid and looking into Spiran History, since it was a subject that fascinated her lifelong friend. Wakka, too, was staying in Besaid, as he had gotten a Blitzball scholarship at the University. Tidus… despite the fact that he was _also_ going to a different college than she was, he would be the closest to her. He was going back to Zanarkand, and although they wanted him for his Blitzball skills, he had told her that he wanted to pursue something else in life, but he was absolutely clueless as to _what._

Yuna sighed. This would be the first time in quite some time that she would be so far away from her friends. It frightened her, but she knew she'd get used to it—eventually. The world was full of possibilities.

"Hello, Sleeping Beauty," she heard Tidus say. She opened one eye and saw him standing over her, smiling.

She sat up and moved over, making room for him next to her on the stairs. "Hello. Did Rikku let you in?"

"Actually, Brother did. He didn't say anything so someone must've warned him, but if looks could kill, I'd be a big grease spot on your front porch." He sat down next to her with his left arm in his lap. The bandages were still around it.

"I wish you would have let me have a look at those cuts. I could have healed them quickly and then you wouldn't have needed the stitches," she said, feeling somewhat guilty at being the cause of his injuries.

"Yuna, we've been over this. They took me in and stitched me up before you even came to. Besides, the scars will make me look dashing," he winked at her. Then he noticed the look on her face. "Nuh-uh, you gotta stop thinking this is your fault. It isn't! None of it is. It just… happened. Okay? Stop blaming yourself. I don't even know how you _can_ blame yourself for this. All fingers point to Mister Facial Varicose Veins."

The nickname for Seymour Guado made her snicker. "I don't know… I still feel like I could have done something…"

"Hey, cut that out! That's all in the past now. What's remembering it now going to do, huh? You've got a lot ahead of you, and now that the burden is gone, you shouldn't think about it anymore. You're got your _life_ ahead of you, you know? There's so much you can do with yourself, now that you don't have to hold so much back." He looked down at her, and she was staring ahead into the grass, hardly even blinking.

"You're right," she breathed, still staring at the grass. "It won't do me any good to keep thinking about it, but I think it'll do me good to remember it. To remember how lucky I am to have gotten this second chance."

"Yep. Now come on, enough tearjerking. Lets have a smile." He nudged her but she just shook her head. "Come on, Yuna, just a little one?" He nudged her again. "For me?"

Yuna giggled softly and looked up at him, smiling shyly and biting on her lower lip gently.

"There's my smile." He turned to face her completely and put his good arm around her and nuzzled her cheek gently. He kissed her cheek gently and moved to her lips, and he felt her hesitantly put her arms around him. She broke away and sighed sadly, looking down.

"Once school starts up, I'll be on the Moonflow, and you'll be in Zanarkand," she said abruptly. "We won't get to see each other much."

"We won't be _that_ far apart. We can still see each other. And we have phones and stuff. It'll be fine, Yuna. I promise." Despite his words, he, too, dreaded being so far from Yuna, but it was necessary.

"I'm holding you to that promise, you know," she said threateningly, but with an impish look in her eyes.

They sat in a comfortable silence while the sun finished setting and the stars came out one by one. The evening chill made them sit close together.

"Hey, look, a shooting star," Tidus pointed towards a streak of light across the night sky.

"Well, don't just sit there. Make a wish," she told him.

For a moment he was silent as he made his wish. "Okay, done. Lets see if it worked!"

Yuna looked down at her wrist, and made a face. "That's funny…"

"What?"

"My watch just stopped."

Tidus smiled and looked at the sky, whispering, "Thank you."

Wow. There it is, people, the Epilogue of MTEMTH, my baby for the last nine months. That's awesome. I hope you all like it despite it's shortness. I will shortly have up a final "thank you" and little tidbit chapter. Nothing major, but it will have my decision for a sequel so if you want to read a sequel, let me know. My answer will be in the next chapter/note.


	20. Thanks and Tidbits

Okay, don't get too excited. This is just a final follow-up thank-you chapter, for everyone who read and helped. So here goes:

(Just pretend they're scrolling, like movie credits.)

A gracious vote of thanks goes to all of my reviewers for making my first fic in FFX section actually become a hit. A special vote of thanks goes to the following people, who have reviewed from the beginning:

JaguarKitty2006

saturnmkch12

Shadowz

Lucifer's Garden

Sorrel Rowan

BlueEyedDemon1

Desolation Angel

classengurl

MourningFox

I also wish to point out Deplora, who not only badgered me into updates and made sure I actually finished this, but she also bought FFX and started playing it, just so that she could read this fic. Ain't she a sweetie?

Another special thanks goes to JaguarKitty2006, who gave me Lulu's French when I needed it.

And, for your enjoyment, here are a few tidbits, factoids, and little secrets about my story, things that I've hidden around:

Tidus' last name, Reina, is actually my grandmother's maiden name. Yuna's last name, Bamarre, is a fictional place in a book _The Two Princesses of Bamarre._ Cute book. Lulu's last name I pulled from a movie, _Ladyhawke_ because the woman's name was Isabeau d'Anjou, and I needed a French name for her anyway. Rikku's last name, however, I pulled out of my hair. Really, I have no idea where that name even came from!

Lefties are, or _were,_ considered evil in Italy because the word for "left" is _"sinistere,"_ and you can guess where that led people. I think a reviewer guessed this, but I don't want to go back over all of those reviews just to see who.

Yuna's projects throughout the story were the same ones I was working on at the time.

Yuna's dog, Ursa, is an Akita.

Tidus' cats, Ace and Gadget, are named after two dogs I know, a wolfhound and a Shi-Tzu. The other two cats, Hermes and Marid, are named after my best friends pet rats, who I was babysitting at the time. (Hi, Boys!)

My friends and I pulled off the "Don't Judge Me" costume one day, totally randomly, which is where I got the idea from.

The number of the D.M.A.S unit that Tidus and Wakka spent part of their spring break at is 9902-10, which stands for the Final Fantasy X project. When you turn on the game, there is a sign beneath the logo that says, "Final Fantasy X Project. 1999-2002." Therefore, the years '99 and '02 are the years for 10. Get it?

The Ronso are kind of based on various Native American tribes.

Yuna's horror story from Spring Break is an actual story told to me by my Spanish teacher. I almost peed my pants laughing when she told it to us.

..0..0..0..0..0..

And, finally, here is the news that you have all been waiting for! I have decided that I _will_ at some point to a sequel. It, too, will be based mostly on Tidus and Yuna, but will have some other couples in it. I don't know when I will find the time to do it, but it'll get done!


End file.
